Genus Mali
by DanelleSephton
Summary: Everyone has a past. Ciel knows that well, but when an angel comes from out of no where and declares that his butler's past will be shown to all of the Phantomhive household, he realizes that some pasts are meant to be left alone. Non-slash (but if you want to be creative...), very tiny Seb-OC, high T, minor torture, possible OOCness (fixed in later chapters), and very dark themes.
1. His Butler, Caught

**Hi world! Yea, I started a new story. Again. I guess I just loss motivation quickly. But, for once, I worked a head! Meaning, I plan on at least having more than eight chapters.**

**Recently, I have become utterly addicted to this fandom, thx in part to one of my friends whom I choose to call Sue. Sue introduced me to Kuroshitsuji and is kind enough to put up with my anime rants.**

**I really, really, really, really, really, REALLY, hope this doesn't suck too bad. I've been in a writing slump for a while and would appreciate some constructive criticism!**

**I don't own Black Butler, if I did, the anime would have been a lot longer. **

_Genus Mali*_

Ciel Phantomhive couldn't sleep. He didn't know why, but he couldn't enter dreamland. Maybe it was just the stress of the day, or maybe the fear of the nightmares he knew would be waiting for him. Either way, he just could not sleep.

Instead of just lying in bed, the young earl decided to go to his office and do some work. It was much better to work then to just lay there anyway. Maybe Sebastian would realize he was awake and bring him some hot milk and honey to help him sleep.

Slipping on his slippers, Earl Phantomhive exited his chambers and headed for his office.

As the young earl walked through the corridors of the manor, he felt a slight chill, making Ciel instinctively draw his night clothes closer to his body. It was strange for a cold feeling to erupt in the Phantomhive manor in the spring, because of his butler's endless work in ensuring that his master had absolute comfort. Also, their was nowhere for the chill to come from, as the hall Ciel was currently in had no windows. And to add to the already odd situation, it felt like the journey was much longer than normal, being the normally three minute trip between room now felt like it was taking three hours. It almost felt like every time Ciel would reach the end of the hall, a new one erupted.

The earl almost turned back to his room, but just as he was about to turn, Ciel stopped a bronze doorknob from the corner of his blue eye.

Ciel quickly sent up a silent prayer as he exited the hall and reached the door to his office, though his joy was very short lived.

_Genus Mali_

The young earl's ecstatic joy faded as he saw whom his 'office' was occupied by.

"Young master!" cried Finny, "Not you too!"

"Why the hell are you idiots in my office in the middle of the night?" Ciel glared at the three servant gathered in the room, "This room is off limits to everyone but me, Sebastian, and those I give consent and I most certainly did not give you permission to do so."

Bard shrugged, "I'd apologize, m'lord, if this were your office."

"Of corse this is my office, you dope!" Ciel retorted, but Meyrin quickly interrupted.

"No it's not, young master, no it's not!"** said the clumsy maid, "Look around!"

The room they were currently standing in was about 16" on all sides and had no doors or windows. There was no furniture in the room at all. All the walls were pure white, as was the floor and ceiling. Against the wall behind them was a large cloth-like thing covering it that was just a little bit more brilliant then the surrounding wall.

Before Ciel could utter a word, Bard interrupted, "Don't ask where we are, we already thought up every possible answer."

Ciel scowled, "Well, that couldn't have taken long."

The invisible door opened again just as Bard was about to flip when...

"Ho ho ho..."

"Tanaka! The room of doom got you too?" Finny cried as everyone's favorite steward(?) walked in wearing bunny patterned pajamas.

"Can we please focus!" Ciel screamed at his servants, "We need a plan. I think Sebastian is our last hope of getting out of here so-"

"I don't think so," said a random girl who just appeared in the middle of the room.

Everyone jumped about ten feet and stepped away from her.

"Who the blazes are you?" said a very startled Bard. The girl just rolled her eyes and twirled her pale blonde hair in her hand a few times. The stranger had bleach blonde, long wavy hair with her bangs held back via a gold circlet. Her skin was sun kissed and her flowing dress was an iridescent white that matched her scaly silver chain mail under armor. She couldn't be older than fifth-teen.***

"I think she's an angel, yes she is!" whispered a gawking Meyrin so that only her companions could hear her.

"Only half," said the angel, leaning against the wall and crosses her arms.

"Your half angel?" Finny asked, "How can that be?"

She rolled her eyes, "That's a story for another time. I have a job to do you know."

"This isn't going to be a repeat of the Angela/Ash thing again is it?" growled Ciel.

The angel laughed and shook her head, "No, I am Adrian, the peaceful justice and the bringer of the past, or as I like to call it, the ultimate comeuppance."

"But that does explain why your here, no it doesn't!" stated Meyrin.

"Yeah, if your some sorta angel cop, why are you here?" Finny asked, wide eyed.

Adrian rolled her eyes again, "First off, never call me 'angel cop' again. Second, I came to serve final judgement on the demonic being of this household."

Ciel's blood ran cold, "What?"

Adrian smirked, "You heard me," she fake pouted, "Aw, little boy didn't think his friend had a life outside of him? Ha, what a riot!"

"No wait a moment," said Bard, "What exactly do you mean by 'demonic being'? Do we have a ghost or something?"

The angel laughed even harder, "Jesus, you all really are clueless aren't you?" She took in the servants confused expressions and their masters panicked one, "Man, come on, who's the only person not in this room?" Blank faces met one that was rapidly growing pained, "Oh, gosh. I guess I'll just get Sebastian myself then..."

The angel exited via the wall, leaving the stunned group.

"What does she mean by getting Mr. Sebastian?" asked Finny.

Ciel swallowed the lump in his throat, "It means that she is going to kill my butler."

"She can't just up and kill Sebastian!" Bard argued, "I don't care if she is an angel!"

"What did Sebastian ever do wrong?" questioned Meyrin, "He can be a little strict at times, yes he can, but that's nothing to call him a demon for!"

"Sebastian is a demon."

All eyes turned to the earl, "What?" breathed Finny.

"My maid is an undercover sniper who can kill a man a mile away without a scope. My chef is a soldier who was smarter than an entire military fleet. My gardener is a super strong science experiment. Is it so hard to believe my butler is a demon?"

All was silent as those words sank in.

_Genus Mali_

About twenty minutes later, Ciel had explained the story to his servants of how Sebastian came to be his butler.

Soon after the earl had finished, a loud clatter was heard outside the room, and a heartrending scream shattered the air.

"I hate demons," mumbled Adrian as she re-entered the room, dragging something behind her through the wall by a semi-glowing chain.

Through the wall, gloved hands, wrapped in the chain, was pulled through. Then an arm, a shoulder, and finally the bruised and bloody head of Sebastian Michealis, followed by the rest of him, slumped to the ground at their feet.

"Don't undo those chains, or I'll have to kill you," Adrian said to stunned residence of Phantomhive manor. She then turned to the cloth-like wall and began to do something, "Wake him up if you can. He really doesn't need me to wake him up."

Finny was the first to move to the fallen demon's side. The gardener gently pulled Sebastian into a sitting position against the wall farthest from the weird angel as the rest of the servants deemed it safe to go and help, Ciel staying off to a distance.

Bard, the only one with any actual medical experience, quickly gave the unconscious demon a once-over, "The damn angel," he mumbled, "He has a mild concussion, at least two broken ribs, and his arms broken. If we don't wake him up, he may never get up."

Leaving that in the air, Bard quickly slapped the butler hard across the face, trying to rouse him. Meyrin grabbed Sebastian's shoulder and shook hard. Finny, afraid of hurting him further, only watched.

Ciel had enough of their pointless worry, "Stand aside," he said, removing his eyepatch and kneeling next to his butler. He looked Sebastian straight in the face, ignoring the shocked gasps of his servants at his contract eye, "Sebastian, this is an order. Wake up, now, before these idiots worry themselves to death."

In less than a minute, the butler's eyes slowly opened, "Young master?" He said groggily, "W-What happened?"

"Oh, I see your up, then," sat Adrian, turning around from the cloth wall, "I can start now."

Finny stood up, "No! You can't kill Mr. Sebastian! I don't care if he is a demon."

Meyrin pulled up her glasses and grabbed her hidden shot gun, "Finny's right, yes he is!"

"If you want to get to my comrade, you'll have to go through me," proclaimed Bard.

Sebastian watched, half conscious, as the servants stood in front of him and his master, ready for a fight.

"What a riot!" chuckled the angel, "I wish my friends were like you lot, but loyalty isn't very thought of were I come from less it's for the big guy, ya' know?" She yawned and pulled a scroll from out of nowhere, "No, your friend here is to be executed, sadly. But I have other orders," she squares her shoulders and reads, "As an angel of true justice, I hereby state that punishment was ordered to the demon currently know as Sebastian Michealis, on the crimes of treason, soul theft of a minor, and the murder of an angelic being. If the guilty would wish to plead mercy and innocence before the council, the punishment may be lowered on standards'. Guilty, how do you plead?"

Sebastian panted out a few cusses to the angel.

"I'll take that as guilty," she said, writing of the scroll, "'The verdict of the council was decided April 3rd at 3:14 p.m. in the presence of a Legendary Reaper, a high angel, and a high demon. The agreed punishment for your crimes," Adrian put down the scroll, pushed her way past the servants, and looked into Sebastian's eyes, "Is Recall."

Sebastian's eyes widen as he started to shake, "N-No... You can do this... No, please!"

Adrian laughed, "Oh I love it when they beg," she paused to spit on the butler, "Sadly, I must deny you request."

As the group watched the angel exit the room, she only turned once, "May The Lord have mercy on your soul," was the last thing they heard from her before she left."

_Genus Mali_

In the few years Ciel had known his butler, he had never seen Sebastian afraid. He'd seen him worried, annoyed, happy, scary, angry, even tired, but never afraid. Though, Ciel had yet to see him injured either.

But the moment in which Sebastian was in a state of absolute horror, the young earl could do nothing but watch as tears of fear slipped down his face.

"Come on, man," said Bard in a soft voice as he and the servants sat beside them, "This 'Recall' thingy can't be all that bad can it?"

Sebastian just drew his bruised limbs up to his chest, careful of his chains, and hugged his legs, "They can't do this... They can't..." was all he said, over and over and over again, as he began to shake.

Tanaka turned back to his human form and touched the younger butler's shoulder, "What is she going to do to you?"  
Sebastian looked at the hand and wiped some tears from his face, "She's going to play my Cinematic Record."

Ciel stopped, "Angels can do that?"

"Wait, hold on," interrupted Finny, "What's a Cinematic Record?"

Sebastian went to stare at the ground, frowning, "A Cinematic record is the recorded history of a being's life that is replayed when they die."

"But she said she wouldn't kill you, yes she did!" argued Meyrin.

"And only Reapers can see Cinematic Records," frowned Ciel, "What would be the point in having us here?"

"And what with that damn chain, why's it glowing like that!" exclaimed Bard.

The butler managed to compose himself, then he sighed, "Young master is right, though normal people can't usually see Records, a Recall is more than a record. A Recall is the worst punishment an immortal being can suffer right behind execution or torture," he rattled the chains on his wrists, "These wrist mentally, emotionally, and literally tied my hands. As long as there on, I can't use my demon power, and I become weaker physically and mentally. The chain connects me to the room, so when the angel activates it, I will black out and go into a dreamlike state. My Cinematic Record will be displayed on that wall."

"But how exactly is that punishment?" asked Finny.

Sebastian chuckled sadly, "The Recall doesn't work for everyone. It replays only certain moments in one's life, while a normal Cinematic Record shows Reapers a person's entire lifetime in a glance. The whole point of a Recall is to force a person to relieve the worst experiences of their lives. It's meant to destroy the person's mind beyond any standard. The point of having you here is to make it harder to forget."

A deadly silence rained over them as the thought settled in the air.

"So how long until you black out?" Bard broke the silence."

"I don't know..."

_Genus Mali_

The butler's words added to the tenseness of the room. Not one of them said a word as they waited.

Ciel sat Indian style with his chin in his hands, deep in thought. Finny was dozing in the corner, fighting to stay up with his friends. Meyrin (for once) was silent as she sat against the wall, wondering just what they were about to witness. Bard paced back and forth, hoping to pass the time so they could just get their butler's torture over with. Sebastian did not move from his spot on the ground, only moving his bonds a bit show he could lean against wall in a more comfortable position. Tanaka used Meyrin's apron to make a makeshift bandage for Sebastian's arm and chest, along with his smaller wounds.

No body wanted to address the situation; everything happened too fast. First, there trapped in the room of doom. Next, Sebastian is a demon. Then, their friend is set to be tortured before then very eyes. What next?

The silence was shattered by the sound of a startled Tanaka supporting a coughing Sebastian against the walk.

"Fight it, boy!" said the steward(really?), "Don't give in."****

The others rushed over as the butler's coughing slow enough for him to speak.

"I *hack* need you to *cough* *cough* do something for me," choked out Sebastian, trying to force back the feel of Adrian's power forcing his mind under.

"What?" said Ciel, forcing a dignified, a serious expression onto his face, regardless of the fear he felt at known his butler's past.

"*cough* Don't judge me *hack* on what I have *cough* *cough* done..." The normally stoic butler shocked them with his request, regardless, they all nodded.

Sebastian gave one last cough as his world went black. The last thing he saw was his master's face and the cloth-like wall opposite of them flickering with the image of a lone farm house...

**There! Done! I hope everyone enjoyed the first chapter of Genus Mali. Remember to eat your veggies, listen to your parents, and that reviews are proven to make me write faster!**

***Genus Mali means Kind Evil in Latin**

****I don't like Meyrin. I'm sure in a different situation, Meyrin would be really cool, but frankly, she only has like two fight scenes and she only does well in one. I'll try not to bash her, but I really don't know how to portray her well, so any help would be great.**

*****Yes, I put an OC in, but didn't say. That would be because she will not have any major part in this except for the beginning and the very end.**

******I like Tanaka put in a grandfatherly role. When you think about it, he is kinda the quiet guardian making sure all his boys (and girl) are okay, while being stern when the situation calls for it.**


	2. His Butler, Young

**Hi! I am so happy! Two reviews in only a short time!? I smell a record! **

**Anyway, here we began introducing you tthy young little 'before one hell of a butler' Sebby. **

**Also, I had a report on my favorite band (Queen), so had to bring in a CD of them for the class. I'm playing the Flash Gorden song XD :) :) :) It will be so funny when space laser sound effects start playing in a Catholic school, with that girl going 'Flash, I love you, but we only have 14 hours to save the world!' in the background! I can't wait to see the nuns faces! **

**I don't own Kuroshitsuji**

As the screen flickered on, the servants and their master were too focused on the butler to notice.

Sebastian was dead to the world, but he seemed to be dreaming in a sense. Expressions would flicker across his face every now and then or he'd clench his fists. The only difference between this and a dream was that Sebastian wouldn't wake up no matter how much his master ordered him to.

They moved the butler into a more comfortable position against the wall as they all settled to watch, hoping that Sebastian was just over reacting in his worries. Bard and Finny were in the corner leaning on against the back wall, Meyrin sat on her knees in the other corner, Tanaka had gone back to his chibi form and took his seat next to Meyrin. With nowhere else left, Ciel simply squeezed next to Sebastian's still form so he wouldn't get crushed by Bard.

According to Tanaka's watch, it was about midnight when the screen began to play.

"What is that?" said Finny, bewildered.

"I don't know," said Bard, in all seriousness, "But I have a feeling were all in for one hell of ride..."

_Genus Mali_

Before there was the perfect, demon, black butler, there was a young, innocent, human boy by the name of Johnny Walker. He was a poor farm boy in a small town just off of London. The Walker family owned a large farm, and sold its products all around England. All the girls in the Walker family were elegant, respectable young ladies, and their eldest son was a brilliant lad and born to run the family business. But Johnny wasn't exceptional in the slightest. In fact, most people never even knew the Walkers had two sons.

"Johnny?" called Edwin A. Walker, head of the family household, "Where are you, son?"

Mr. Walker was a large, muscly man with a stern nature. His father gave him the large family farm when he was 21 and, under his guidance, it grew to one of the most prominent farm in England. He had seven children; five daughters and two sons.

He was a patient man, but when it came to his youngest son, well, running around tended to get a little bit tiresome.

"I'm here, pa!" called said tiresome boy, running into the house, "What do you need?"

"Nothing, boy," Mr. Walker scolded, "I just don't like it when my son is out wandering all alone. It's dangerous for a small little boy little your self John, with no one to protect you."

Johnny rolled his eyes as he sat down across the table from his father, "Pa, I'm not little, I'm almost nine years old!" He sent a cheery smile, "I'm all grown up now!"

The giggling of little girls filled the air.

John turned around and glared at his sisters in the far end of the room, "What's so funny?"

Amy, one of the eldest sisters at age 12, laughed, "If your all grown up, why is Anne taller then you?"

Everyone laughed, including little seven-year-old Anne, at the expense of the youngest son of the Walker family, whom blushed and looked at the ground.

It was honestly true; Johnny was very small for his age. All the Walker's had the signature golden blonde hair, navy blue eyes, pale skin, and tall, strong build, but John Michael Walker was nine years old, thin, dirty blonde, tan, and very small. His older brother told him he'd grow soon, but he'd have to wait. Johnny didn't believe him. His brother was his best friend, but Johnny didn't trust him because he was always a grown up and he was always tall so how would he know? Either way, Johnny was ashamed of his size.

"Ah, bug off, Amy," he retort to his sister, "I didn't ask what you think."

"John, I will have my children speaking in such a manor, now go and do your chores," Mr. Walker barked.

Most fathers adore there kids, especially there cute, small youngest. But Mr. Walker held little affection for John. To him, his youngest son was a stain on the family name. He had no extra ordinary ability, he was to small to do hard work, and he didn't even look the part of a Walker.

But, with his wife gone, all Mr. Walker could do was look for a new wife to get him a better son. Mr. Walker loved his first wife, Mary, more than the others, but he needed another son, simply because little Johnny wasn't perfect enough.

_Genus Mali_

Johnny rushed out of his house and into the fields. He wasn't stupid, like everyone thought, he just didn't want to be angry with his pa.

When his mother was alive, she always told him to love everyone around him, and they'll love you back, and if people don't seem to notice, or don't seem to care, just keep on loving, because the best love is one that no one knows about.

This was how he choose to love his pa; silently, so that no one really even noticed he was his ever loyal son.

Johnny picked up a spade and began his chores in the field. None of his siblings had to do chores, they were to busy studying about literature and math, learning to play the piano, and, most importantly, being perfect. That was the main job of an sophisticated you gentleman or a lady. Perfection. Johnny, obviously was not allowed to participate in this.

But still, Johnny followed his mother's advice and did as he was told, being the best, loyal son he could be. Even if that meant acting like a slave and plowing the fields, he'd do it.

Johnny spent the rest of the day doing his chores; plowing, planting, harvesting, cleaning, organizing, and such. He may not be much of a rich man's son, but at the very least, he was one hell of a servant.

_Genus Mali_

It was late into the evening when Johnny finally finished his work. He had calluses on his hands, scraps and bruises everywhere, and he was starving, but he wouldn't complain.

He rushed off to the house for supper. One thing he didn't have to do that a servant did was eat like one. No, Johnny didn't get a feast but he still ate a good meal everyday.

He didn't eat with the family, not because he didn't want to, but because he knew he wasn't wanted. Johnny always felt awkward sitting at dinner with his family, because they never set a place for him, nor did they make conversation with him. It was like inviting your slave to a dinner party; unthinkable.

So, what Johnny did was he'd go to the kitchen, have the nice, old cook put his food in a bag, then he'd sneak into the woods and eat under an old oak tree and listen to the birds chirp and just watch the day go by as he ate.

Today, as Johnny sat beneath the tree, he tried to guess what it was today's meal would be. As he opened it, he was delighted to smell smoked salmon with lemon on a fresh baked roll, accompanied by a small canteen with what smelled like tea, Earl Grey if he were to guess.

Before he ate though, Johnny broke the salmon sandwich in half, then whistled.

In the blink of an eye, a raven was on the ground in front of him.

It was a really odd bird. It had red eyes, a firm sturdy stance, and an intelligent look to it. Regardless of it's oddness, Johnny liked the bird. He'd saved it from some village children who were going to kill it. Ever since, the bird meet Johnny everyday for dinner, and sometimes it would watch him as he worked.

Johnny threw the bird half of his sandwich, which it happily scarfed down, "Did you like it?" asked Johnny as he began to eat his own half, "I think every thing chef makes is great, but he always likes others opinions!" He watched the raven expectantly, "Well?"

If bird could smile, that raven would have been the perfect picture of such a thing. The bird nodded and finished it's half of the sandwich as the night slowly came, and, as quickly as it came, the bird was gone.

Johnny smiled and leaned back against the tree. Who needed friends when you have birds?

_Genus Mali_

Everyone watched the screen in wonder.

None of them had ever seen anything like it, but that wasn't the problem. If Sebastian was right, then this was going to get much worse.

What Ciel did not expect was exactly what they saw. The earl never thought his butler had ever had a chance at wealth or money, let alone did Ciel ever think he was a rich man's son.

"My parent's used to know the Walker's," said Ciel, interrupting the theater-like silence, "Well, at least of them. Their was a family by the same name that used to own a small produce manufacturing plant the moved to America recently. I do believe there was an Edwin Walker in their family. This had to be around the 1500's, which would make Sebastian about..."

"About 387* years old..." breathed Bard, eyes not leaving young Johnny for a second as he had his chat with the raven, "Jesus, but how in the of God did this happen?"

"Yeah," replied Finny, "His dad isn't exactly the nicest man in the world, and his childhood wasn't exactly nice, but that doesn't turn you into a demon!"

"And Johnny doesn't look anything like Sebastian," agreed Meyrin, "Just look at him!"

Ciel sighed, "I don't know, but that is Sebastian and there is nothing we can do about it. If we want to know, all we can do is wait and see."

"Right," said everyone, just as a man's shadow entered the scene above little Johnny and his dinner.

***I did a little research, and you'll only really get this if your a literitrature nerd like me. Mr Arthur 'Wordsmith', from the whole mystry arc in the manga, technically, if you actually look up some of the stuff they show him writing in the book, is Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the man who wrote the Sherlock Holmes Novels. The one used in the manga that was the easiest to spot was A Study in Scarlet (Don't believe me? Try Kuroshitsuji 39; page 19. You can actually see'Conan' in the picture) Any way, A Study in Scarlet was published in 1889, which, if I did my math correctly, would make the difference between 1889 and 1500 about 389. :)**

**Don't forget to reveiw :)**

**FOLLOW;**

** #/watch?v=pYkfRAAQULw&desktop_uri=%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DpYkfRAAQULw**


	3. His Butler, Loved

**Hi! I'm not trilled about this chapter, but I think it passes and most of what's in here can't be skipped, even though it's not exactly my cup of tea (Which is currently a raspberry chai :^|) **

**Anyway, if anyone was wondering, the Queen thing was abnormally awesome (no dancing nuns but people were singing along). **

**Finally, it'd luv it if I could get a few reader questions n before the next chapter, cause when people ask about the story, sometimes stuff I hadn't even thought about is brought to my attention.**

**PS. I'm looking for a beta reader, as I write on my iPad (curse you autocorrect!)**

**I don't own Kuroshitsuji, but I do own my oh-so-hated angel.**

_Genus Mali_

Johnny looked up just as the shadow of a man hung over him.

"Matt!" he cried as he dropped his sandwich and reached up to his older brother, "Where have you been all day? You've been gone forever!"

Matthew smiled, "Come on, little brother," the elder lifted up Johnny by his armpits and held him bridal style, "I wasn't gone that long. I was only out for a day!"

"But I missed you," Johnny pouted.

Matt sat down and rocked his little brother a few times, cradling him to his chest and letting his cloak* fall around Johnny like a blanket. He let Johnny snuggle deeper into its warm fabric as he ran callused fingers through Johnny's dirty hair a few times.

Matthew Walker was a the picture of a perfect Walker. He had shoulder length, gold hair, deep blue eyes, and perfect tan skin. Matt was tall and well-built, but he was also sharp as a tack. He was next to take over the family business from his father, and often very busy. But aside from his appearance, Matthew acted nothing like the rest of the family. He wasn't harsh or stern, nor was he hot-tempered or brash. Matthew Walker was a kind, gentle man who stood up for what he believed in, and loved his little brother very much.

After a long days work of being an adult, Matt found that the best thing in the world was that of coming home to those who loved you. His father only thought of him as his heir, not his son, his sisters were all spoiled brats, and his caring mother was long cold deep down in the ground for about three years now. The only one who actually loved him was his poor little abused brother. Johnny was too young to do what he did, but he did it well and without complaint. For this, Matt respected his younger, and did everything he could to provide for Johnny what his uncaring father did not.

In a flash of chuckles, Matt leaped up, Johnny still in his arms, and flung his brother high in the air. Johnny let out a little yelp as he was jostled up and up in the air, till gravity took its corse and pulled him down again.

Matt caught his brother easily in his arms and swung his now laughing little brother by his arms in a circle a few times before he let him down, "Okay, little brother, ready to go back home?"

Johnny nodded and the brothers raced back to the house, leaving the food for the animals.

_Genus Mali_

Ciel could feel Sebastian shift beside him as they watched brothers play. When the young earl turned to look at his butler, Sebastian was smiling like child. Ciel had never seen him look so happy. For a moment, Ciel felt happy too that his friend could find a little joy in this bleak situation, even if it wouldn't last, but then Ciel forced his attention back to the screen. He had to remember that Sebastian was still a demon who wanted to devour his soul, and he was not his friend, Sebastian was just one hell of a butler.

But everyone else felt very relieved by this. At least someone took care of their butler in his youth. At least someone had cared for him. Just by Sebastian's reaction they knew that Matt was a bright point in their friends life and they were grateful to him for that.

The happy moment was interrupted by the loud rumbling of someone's stomach. Everyone turned to the gardener, whom looked embarrassedly at his feet.

"Hehe, sorry," said Finny, "I guess I'm a little hungry."

Everyone agreed grumpily, suddenly very much evening Johnny and his salmon sandwich.

"If you want, I can get you guys food."

All of them turned to face Adrian in the wall, holding another four chains.

"What the hell do you want?" Bard growled, standing up.

The angel just laughed, "What a riot! First I get my own surprise party, now this? This is epic!"

"Surprise party?" questioned Finny.

Adrian shrugged, "Eh, that's a whole different story, but I'll just give you the summary." She pulled on the four chains and out of the wall came Grell Sutcliff (screaming about love), William T. Spears (looking very indifferent), and Snake (says Wordsworth).

"What the hell is this lot doing here!" exclaimed Bard.

"I was looking for you," answered Snake, "But this red-head ran in asking for his 'love devil' Sebastian, says Dan."

"I will not be separated from my Seba-chan!" screamed Grell, kicking at his bonds.

"Please, Sutcliff," sighed William, awkwardly pushing his glasses up, "Try to hold some dignity."

Adrian rolled her eyes and tapped the chain, which disappeared. The three fell to the ground as Adrian moved over to Sebastian as the servants (minus Tanaka and Ciel) went to help Snake.

"Ah... It's starting," she said, opening the butler's butler's eye with her thumb, "Good, we're ahead of schedule."

"Get away from him!" yelled Ciel, slapping away her hand from Sebastian's face, "You can't torture him with a few memories! Sebastian's to strong for that!"

Everyone froze before the young earl even knew what he had said. Ciel was very glad his butler was in his dream state, so that he hadn't heard his outburst.

But, Adrian just laughed, "What. A. Riot!" she moved to the back of the room, "Torture him? That's what you think this is? Man, you really have been hanging around Ash to much haven't you?" She caught her breath, "No, the Recall is not torture, but most demons who actually were subjected to it spread rumors to hide what happened. Only angels know the real truth," she laughed again, "But maybe your Reaper friend could help," she started to exit through the wall, "I'll send some food in a little bit." Then she was gone.  
After a brief silence, Grell broke the silence, "What's wrong with Seba-chan?"

William walked over to master and butler, then crouched down to Sebastian as hesitantly opened his eye, "Humph, seems that the angel really is doing a Total Recall."

"What?" blinked Finny, "I thought it was just a Recall."

"And who are these guys?" asked Bard.

"We are Reapers," said Grell, grinning and taking in the shocked faces of the servants.

William rolled his eyes and adjusted his glasses, "Must you reveal top secret information to everyone, Sutcliff?"

"What is a Total Recall," interrupted Ciel before Grell could respond.

"A Total Recall," William stated, "Is when an angel forces a being to re-witness the past events in their lives. It's like there own version of the Cinematic Record, but different."

"But Mr. Sebastian said-"

"Demons, like the angel said, would only have knowledge on such a thing like angelic punishment from those who were subjected to it, but frankly demons are to proud to admit the truth."

"Which is?"

William stood, "The Total Recall is an angelic tool used to return dead souls to life, or in this case, return demons to a near human state."

Everyone froze, "What?" gasped Finny.

"Yes," nodded the Reaper, "It makes the demon began to lose its ability to hide its human form, takes away there immortality, and weakens the demons abilities. It doesn't completely destroy its title as a being, but makes them more human then anything."

"What about the contract?" Ciel stuttered, as he slumped back down next to his butler.

William looked down at him, "Any contract a demon holds during the period when the Recall takes place will remain, but the demon will be unable to eat its victims soul and will be unable to make new contracts afterwords."

As the information settled, no last question was asked, "How are you sure," it came from Grell, "How do you know my Seba-chan is turning into a puny human, Will?!"

William sighed, "He's not turning into a human, just something very similar. And I can tell because of this." He leaned down again and eased open Sebastian's eye, but now so ever one could see.

Bard took a step back, Grell sobbed, Finny and Meyrin gasped, Snake stared wide eyed, and Ciel just watched.

Sebastian's trademark ruby red eyes had changed to match that of the young Johnny on the screen (whom was still running around with his brother). They were a startling, lightning blue, much contrasted to the normal Walker navy, but they were different from the chipper youth's. Sebastian's weren't as bright, in fact, they looked like they were saddened and there was a mild reddish tint around the edge of his iris**, giving the edge of his eyes a distinctly purplish hue.

"This is really happening, isn't it?" commented Bard, as he stared in awe, "Is there there anything we can do for him?"

"Sit back," William shrugged as he sat along the left wall, "Sit back and wait to pick up the pieces."

_Genus Mali_

***I never really mentioned the flashback character's attire (I USED A VOCAB WORD I WANNA QUATER!), but all of them are dress in cloths from their time period if the 1500s in England, meaning cloaks (I have one, not very warm, but very freeing)**

****The iris is a thin, circular structure in the eye, responsible for controlling the diameter and size of the pupils and thus the amount of light reaching the retina (thx Wikipedia) It's also where we get eye colors. I didn't know what this area of the eye was called, so I felt like sharing :)**

**Huh? What's this? It's the return of the figment team!**

**Every remember the famous review Bunny?**

**(\_/)**

**(")_(")**

**She has something to say...**

**VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV**

**VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV**

**VVVVVVVREVEIW!VVVVVV**

**VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV**

**VVVVVVVVVVVV**

**VVVVVVVVV**

**VVVVVVV**

**VVVV**

**VV**


	4. His Butler, Ever Vigilant

**Hi! Nothing really to say, cept that I'm still looking for a beta and I still adore reviews. **

**I don't own Kuroshitsuji**

_Genus Mali_

After William's eerie speech, it took some time before they could get everyone situated on the floor facing the wall.

Will stayed in his spot against wall and Finny and Bard hesitantly sat beside him as Meyrin retook her spot in the right hand corner and she was soon followed by Snake and co. It took some arguing to convince Grell that hug would most certainly not save Sebastian anytime soon, but the red reaper begrudgingly sat on the opposite side of William, against the left wall. Ciel, now very squished and pressed for space, somehow ended up against the back wall in the very middle, sitting on his sleeping butler's lap so that neither of them would be squished.

They quietly watched the screen, not willing to sleek after finding out about the true nature of Sebastian's current situation.

_Genus Mali_

It took the two brothers about a half hour to finally reach the house.

Johnny was the first one there, but Matt was close on his tail. As soon as the younger's feet touched the porch, Matt scoped him into his arms and quickly cared him off to his room.

Johnny's room was in the servant's quarters on the far east side of the ranch. It was better than most of the servant's rooms, as he was the owner's son, but it was far from what one of his status deserved. The small room was a converted stable that was attached to the main house. All the animals were taken out of it as was the straw, and it was thoroughly cleaned of all filth and muck. Regardless of this, it still smelled like horses and worse. Johnny's furniture consisted of a small worn-out pine dresser, a shallow wooden bowl with which he washed his face every morning, and a makeshift bed made out of half crate that was filled with straw and covered with a rough cotton blanket. The walls were whitewashed and the floor was all dirt. The only form of color in the room came from a colorful quilt made of scraps of cloth patched together crudely.

The older brother sat Johnny down on the dresser and pulled out one of his nightshirts, then got it on him. When he was done, Matt gently laid his brother on the sad little bed and sat on the crate edge.

"Matt?" said Johnny, sleepily.

Matt smiled, "Yeah, little brother?"

"Are you gonna go see the creepy man again tonight?" Asked the younger, innocent eyes barring up.

The Walker heir was visibly taken back, "What?"

Johnny just sat up and looked at him, "Every night I can hear you run from the porch around midnight and then I watch you go into the forest by the big fern tree by the barn. Sometimes I see the creepy man by the tree waiting for you. He's really scary..."

Matt let that set in a bit as he just watched his brother in horror, "John, you need to listen to me," he said in a firm, steady voice as he cupped a hand under Johnny's chin and made him look him in the eye, "I need you to forget about the man you saw, okay? I-It's not something you should get involved in. You'll know soon enough, all right? Will you promise that?"

Johnny nodded, suddenly very tired. Matt smiled ruefully and eased Johnny back down into the blanket. He wrapped the patchwork quilt around the small, sleeping body of his beloved brother.

Matt waited a few minutes, watching the rise and fall of the blanket, before he left the room, and headed straight for the fern tree at a running dash.

_Genus Mali_

Matthew Walker crashed through the trees at a break neck pace, "Henley*! Henley!" he called at the top of his lungs, "Get out here we need to talk, NOW!"

"Calm down, I can here you just fine," a male voice sounded from amongst the trees.

The loud flapping of wings was heard and suddenly, the raven was on Matt's shoulder, "Hello, Matthew," it said, tipping its head towards it master, "How may I be of assistance tonight."

"You can't," the heir replied, "We have a problem, and I'd rather not discuss it with a bird."

The raven sighed at leaped from Matt's shoulder. As it flew, the bird grew rapidly; legs gaining mass, wings shedding feathers; and soon, were the raven landed, stood a tall, slim, raven-haired man in a black suit, "Does this form suit you more, master?"

Matt rolled his eyes, "Yes, that's fine, Henley, truly splendid, but back to the problem at hand-"

"Your younger brother is aware of my presence," smirked Henley.

"You knew?!" Matt took a step back, "And you didn't tell me?"

"Master, your brother is a rather bright boy, much more so then most of your kind tend to be, I might say," Henley explained, "He is excepts all living beings as his equal, accepts his station in life, and never demands anything that he does not have. Frankly, I find it difficult to believe that your father put you in charge of the future of your families business and not him," he put a hand up to silence his growling master, "Regardless of all of these facts, did you honestly think that no one would be curious as to where you disappear to every night? You rarely go to your own home between work and our planning."

Matt sighed, "I guess your right. This means we must begin our plan early." He began walking out of the forest when he stopped,"Come, Henley," the heir turned, golden hair falling away from his neck, revealing a black seal of a pentagram in the nap of his neck, "We have work to do."

Henley dropped to one knee, removed his glove to reveal a matching seal on his hand, and smirked, "Of corse, master. I follow my masters every command without complaint. If I couldn't even do this for my master, well then what kind of butler would I be?"

_Genus Mali_

When the mysterious Henley appeared, and the seal was revealed on Matt, every one looked to Ciel.

Said earl lifted a hand to his marked eye that bore the same mark. It made no sense, he thought, every demon has a different seal, so how can Henley and Sebastian have the same seal, let alone all the known demon likenesses of the Phantomhive butler. It made no sense what so ever. Even William looked shocked.

But the unspoken question hung in the air, Why would Matt do it?

He had everything he could possibly want; money, fame, power, titles, glory, and a brother who loved him to the moon and back. What amount of greed could make a man give up all this for one little wish? Suddenly, Ciel wasn't too grateful to his brother's childhood protector anymore.

_Genus Mali_

** *Henley means high meadow**


	5. His Butler, Horrified

**Hi! Sorry bout the wait, I decided that I'd give myself something else to do and I started to draw the Walker family using bases. So far I finished drawing Johnny and Matt, and I'm almost done with their five sisters (it's really hard to find a base with five girls of different ages) and if requested, I my up it them on devidentart, but only if requested still I post links to them here!**

**Again, I'm looking for a beta!**

**I don't own Kuroshitsuji**

_Genus Mali_

The next morning, Johnny was shocked to receive a summons to his father's side.

"I don't know, John," replied servant whom came to fetch him, "But your father seemed to be in a rage."

The nervous boy briskly followed the servant to the main house and quickly entered the door. His surprise was only increased by the sight he witnessed.

In the front room, was the entire Walker family and then some. All of the young Walker lady's were in their Sunday best, standing in a straight line in front of the big window next to the window, their line headed by the Mrs. Walker (currently number four). Mr. Walker sat in his armchair, oddly glared daggers at his eldest son, who stood nervously in front of his father. The reason for everyone's discomfort was the stranger by Matt's side.

"It's good of you to join us, John," stated Mr. Walker, eyes not leaving his eldest, "As you can see, we have a new... butler that will be joining our household."

The black clad man beside the Walker family heir bowed low, "Greetings, young master."

Mr. Walker glared at the man, "Yes, yes," he turned to his youngest, "John, does this man look familiar to you?"

Johnny was confused, so he looked to his older brother. Matt smiled and nodded for him to answer yes, so Johnny answered a curt, "Yes, pa," before jogging over to his brother's side.

"See, father?" Matt smiled, briskly coaching down and putting his arm around his brother, "Johnny knows Henley, so it's not like he's a stranger. I wish to take Henley on as my butler, and I find nothing wrong with my decision."

Mr. Walker growled, "I do not like him. He's too... eerie. If you want a butler, I will find you one, but not this one."

Matt smiled even hard, "A had a feeling you would be like this, so I had prepared for this."

"What do you mean by that?" his father said.

"I mean," spoke the heir, "That I do not need you help to pay my butler, my only wish was your consent. Henley will be paid with a small part of the bond you have for me in the bank, along with a portion of my wages as the current co-head of the company."

The head of the house was glowing red with anger, "How dare you defy me!"

"I am not defying you, father," argued Matt, standing from his spot behind a scared Johnny, "I am doing just as you always told me to. I am do what's best for my family." With that, he took Johnny and his new butler out of the house.

_Genus Mali_

The two brothers walked through the family's farmland, followed by Henley.

"Matt," asked Johnny in a hushed tone, "What's going on?"

Matt sighed and rubbed his brother's back as they walked, "I'm sorry you got caught up in that, little brother, but like I said last night, you'll understand in due time."

"Whose the scary man?" questioned Johnny, peeking back at the butler.

The Walker heir lightened up a bit and turned to the man,"This is my new butler, Henley Kitts. Introduce yourself, Henley!"

Henley smiled at the youngest Walker, whom had stopped to look at the butler, "It is a pleasure to serve you, young master," bowed the butler.

Johnny watched him in his actions quietly, then laughed, "Your funny! I like you."

Matt chuckled and lead his brother again on the path, "See, Henley!" he called back to the butler, "I told you someone who like you here!"

Henley nodded and followed his young masters on the well worn path.

_Genus Mali_

Soon, the younger brother had to bare far well to Matt and the new butler, and he went off to do his chores.

As Matt watched Johnny run off to the fields, he turned to his butler, "Well, Henley, shall we?"

Henley nodded, and they walked off to the woods, "Young master," questioned the butler, "Is it wise to act on our plans tonight? Your does not seem to trust me that well, and, by default, neither does the rest of your family."

"Johnny likes you," stated Matt.

"Yes," Henley smirked, "But our plan does not involve your brother enjoying my presence."

"But it makes me feel better about all of this," sighed Matt, tilting his head down, "Frankly, no matter how badly I know that this is needed, I can't help but wish there was a better way to do this..." He rubbed his neck where the seal was.

Henley reached over to his master and moved his hand away, "Young master, if you know that this is what you feel to best the best action in protecting those you care about, then you have no other option then to proceed in your chosen plan."

"I know," he said, "It's just... Strange to think about it. It's a foreign thought, but frankly, I need to do what's right. This is the only way." A brief silence followed, "Henley?" asked the heir.

"Yes, young master?"

"I want you to promise me something."

"What?"

"When this is over, when I am gone..."

"Yes?"

"...at all costs, protect my little brother. Do everything you can to keep him safe and alive."

"Is this an order?"

"No," smiled Matt, "This is not something I can order my butler to do. This something I ask of a friend. Do you except?"

The demon paused for a moment, smiled, then bowed low, "Yes, my young master."

_Genus Mali_

Johnny finally finished his chores as the day came to an end. He ran inside his small room, and slipped on this night clothes. It had been a wild day, and the little boy couldn't wait to sleep.

What he never expected to hear on that quiet, sleepy night, was his sisters' piercing screams.

The high-pitched wail could only have been made by Alice, the second youngest of the Walker girls and by far the biggest over reactor. Before Johnny could even comprehend his sister's screams, Alice's voice was joined by little Anne, the obnoxious Amy, and the second oldest, Alexandria.

Finally, Avery, the oldest of all the girls at eighteen shrieked the most frightening thing Johnny had ever heard in his young life. "MATT, STOP! YOUR KILLING THEM!" she screamed at the top of her lungs, then it was followed by a strangled screech.

The youngest Walker needed no more as he leaped from his bed and into the yard, along with the other servants. Everyone froze at what they saw.

All the lights in the main house shined bright, but the mien around it was dark. Soon, the girls' screams stopped, but two older yells were sounded; Mr. and Mrs. Walker.

Some braver servants broke out of their trance and rushed inside to help, but then more screams followed, "Master, what are you doing to them-!" screamed one of the servants, but he was quickly cut off by the sound of a blade cutting flesh. After that, most of the servants ran away, but Johnny remained, shocked.

Soon, the screams stopped and a figure slowly entered the door frame.

Time slowed.

The wind seemed to hold it's breath.

The world stopped turning.

Everything just froze.

Because Johnny's world stopped as his perfect older brother stood in the doorway, holding a knife and covered in blood, with his butler close behind him.

_Genus Mali_

**Reviews make me write faster! **


	6. His Butler, Angry

**Sup! I'm Danelle Septhon, and I approve this message.**

**I really am bad at editing my own work (I'm a speed-reader, the story is what worries me more than the silly little mistakes do make) so I desperately need a good beta reader. I'm a shy person (never woulda thought) so I rarely actually ask betas directly for help, so I much prefer asking from the story, so that way I already know that anyone who responds is interested.**

**I also feel like posting a link to the story illustrations I started (take out the spaces)-**

** danellesepthon. deviantart art/ Genus -Mali -Matt -and-Johnny- 357343390?q= gallery% 3Adanellesepthon&qo**

**Yeah, that was a long A/N, but what you gonna do? ;)**

**I don't own Kuroshitsuji**

_**Warning:**_** I physically cried so hard when I wrote this, I had to stop.**

**__Genus Mali_ _**

"Matt?" breathed out Johnny, "What happened?"

The elder didn't meet Johnny's eyes, only stopped for a brief second, then brushed past him, followed by his butler, "Father and his wife are dead," was his only answer.

Johnny followed them, "What about the girls? Amy? Avery? Anne?"

Matt continued on, "Their gone, too."

The younger brother grabbed Matt's arm, desperately hoping his fear was without base, "You tried to save them right, big brother?"

This time the young heir stopped, as did his butler, "How naive, little brother," he said as he shook off a startled Johnny from his arm, "You really hold on to the hope of my innocence even as stand before you dripping in the blood of our father and our sisters. How pathetic, little one."

Johnny took a step away from the one he'd looked up to for so long, "Why" he asked silently, eyes not leaving his blood-covered sibling and the calm butler, "Why would you do this, brother? Don't you care anything at all about your family? About me?"

Matt stopped, with a look like he wanted to say something, to console his scared little brother, but then he looked in his brother's wide eyes with a dark look that held a horrible expression of loathing and hate, "No, I don't. I never did."

Johnny's eyes watered as the two men began to walk away, "This whole time has been nothing to you? You've been playing me for fool this whole time? Did you ever really love me?"

The young heir stopped again and spun quickly around, slapping Johnny straight across the face, "You are so stupid, you know that Johnny? You are the biggest idiot I have ever meet! Nothing in this world is good, little brother, you need to go out and find it yourself or all life is just evil handed to you on a silver platter. The only way to get anywhere in life is with hate. '_Love_' is worthless. '_Love_' brings nothing but pain. '_Love_' makes people like you, Johnny. People who throw their lives away for those they love. You and all those people have nothing but '_love_' in their hearts and that makes you weak. My advice to you is to find something hate. Let that make you stronger, little brother."

Johnny shook throughout his brother's whole speech. When Matt finally finished his monotone, the elder turned away, motioning for Henley to follow.

"Wait, you son of a bitch!" screamed Johnny, shaking with rage. Matt turned, slightly shocked at the sudden change in his brother, as did Henley.

"You loved me," growled the normally stoical boy, "You made me feel like you actually gave a damn. I was your little brother. But you know what? I don't care. Your completely right. Your the only person in the world I ever trusted, ever cared about. Now, I know that it was a one-sided feeling. You were never my brother. Now that your not my brother now, all I have left, is to hate you," he laughed, "I hate you, Matthew! I hate you! I'm gonna be stronger than you, then I'm gonna kill you. I'm going to kill you!"

Matt patiently listened to Johnny's screaming, then walked away with out a word, and Henley followed, leaving Johnny panting in the field.

_**_Genus Mali_**_

Master and butler stopped in the middle of the forest; by the tree where Matt's little brother ate everyday.

The heir stood facing the tree, the adrenaline of murder leaving his system. The uncaring facade he put on for his brother was slowly melting, as tears began to slip down Matt's face. He sunk to his knees, body shaking with sobs.

"Johnny..." he weeped, "Oh God what have I done to you? What have I done?"

Henley leaned down next to him, "Young master?"

"That's right," said Matt, wiping his face with his sleeve, "I promised you my soul," he stood, still crying a little bit, "Well, let's get this over with."

Henley just watched.

"Well, go on! Take it!" screamed the heir, "Just take my soul!"

Henley smiled, "Of corse young master. But I must ask something, is the request you ask of me earlier in regards to your younger still in effect?"

Matt nodded, "Yes, and don't let Johnny know about my fate. He needs to grow. He needed this."

Henley only nodded and lead his master to lean up against the big tree, "I will fulfill your request," he said, "Are you prepared?"

Matt swallowed hard, "Yes, I'm ready. I know my brother will be safe, and my father will not harm him anymore. Today, Johnny became a man. He'll be okay without me now. My life is done."

Henley smiled at his young master, "You have done well. You will rest soon, young master."

"Don't do that, Henley," Matt said as he closed his eyes, "I'm a dead man, don't make my memory your master, make it your friend."  
"Of course, my young friend," smiled Henley, as he brushed hair away from Matt's eyes.

"Will it hurt?" asked Matt, not moving from his spot.

"Only for a little bit, but I will try to be as gentle as I can," calmed the butler.

"Thank you, Henley," replied the heir, "But that will not be required. Do as you wish."

"As you wish," answered Henley. He leaned over his master on hands and knees.

Matt flinched as his butler pressed his teeth against his neck, precisely over the curse mark. The heir struggled to maintain his calm demeanor as he felt Henley's teeth pierce into his neck. Matt at first felt nothing but extreme pain, but soon, the pain was replaced with the feeling of nothing. He was growing limp and tired. The word was slowly drifting away. He was dying.

**__Genus Mali__**

It wasn't long until Henley stood up from the corpse of Matthew Walker, his stomach satisfied, but his heart saddened. Matt truly was a good companion, and a true friend, but he was still prey. Either way, his most noble and honorable soul truly was a feast.

Once the soul was taken out of the young man's body, the demon butler still had a few things to do before he finished.

Henley gently move the body against the tree into a more comfortable position, "Please wait a mere second, young friend," he whispered to the still corpse. Henley removed his white leather glove and butler touched his dead master's shoulder. From the butler's touch, the corpse looked like it began to dissolve from the hand. The body was quickly becoming nothing but a fine, shiny black powder that gentle sprinkled to the ground. The strange powder was seemingly magnetic, as all the minuscule bits of the powder fall together in a small pile.

When the powder stopped falling, Matthew's corpse was gone and the black powder formed a small pile where the young man once was. Henley reached down and touched the pile of dust before he picked it up. By Henley's touch, the pile turned to a small onyx stone about the size of a fingernail.

The ex-butler flipped the stone a few times in his hand before he set to work. Most demons didn't really care for the next part of the process of taking a soul, making the soul-stone's holder usually a crude ring of wood, but for this most noble and kind soul, Henley had fashioned a ring to forever mark Matthew Walker's soul on this earth.

Not being a butler at the time, Henley Kitts was not exactly able to gain fine material's for his master's ring, but he knew that his master's soul would never be content with golds or silver. No, Matthew Walker was a man who valued principles over material goods. So, his butler gathered about small wires, gears, and such tools of someone whom his master would had held a great respect. The old tools had been melted into a thin, flat copper band with a ridge circling the middle of it, and a small hole in the center, the perfect size for the onyx remains of Matt.

The demon fit the stone in the ring as he ran off to fulfill his master's last request.

**__Genus Mali_ _**

**Reviews make me write faster!**


	7. His Butler, Changing

**I'm back! This chapter goes out to my beta, SecretlyADemon. Made this a lot better! Whew, this is short A/N. Epic :)**

**Edit: Re-reading this, I realized how similar the end is to the manga (you n know, enter hooker boots Sebastian and all that jazz) Anyway, I edited to so that the text works more for that, but the chap. changed in no way, shape or form other than the slight ending.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Kuroshitsuji**

_**_Genus Mali_**_

It was hard to keep a calm face in the small, white room.

Meyrin had long ago begun to weep with despair, Finny joining in quite quickly. Bard was there to lend a shoulder, even though the war-hardened man fought tears himself. Tanaka sipped his tea depressed. Grell was most likely the loudest weeper of all, bursting into over dramatic tears of utter anguish. William just frowned, a little bit worried about the slight pity he was feeling towards his nemesis. Snake just sat there, brushing tears from his eyes as his snakes comforted him as best as a snake could. Ciel simply chose to pull his butler's arms around him and pretend that everything was alright.

But one look at Sebastian told him that it just wasn't true.

The second they heard the first of the sisters' screams from the screen, tears formed in the demon's eyes. He knew what was going to happen. He knew everyone he loved was going to die before him all over again.

The worst part was that Sebastian's humanity was becoming very clear once again. Not only had his eyes changed, but earlier a few strands of dirty blonde hair became noticeable. Now, the butler had a streak of dirty blonde hair that stood out in contrast to his normal jet black. Also, his skin color had become a little tanner, and his nails had long since lost their black coloring. Only the curse mark on his hand proved that he was still a demon.

But what caused tears from the rest of the group was the look on Sebastian's face. He just looked so stoical. He looked like he could accept what was happening to him, like he felt he deserved it.

Their butler had given in to the angel's torture. That much was obvious. Sebastian wasn't as strong as he seemed to be. On the outside, the demon was strong as an ox and stubborn as a mule. But it seemed that the quiet butler wasn't as strong when it came to Johnny Walker. They realized that Matt was right; Johnny did grow up that day when he vowed hatred to his brother. What the elder Walker didn't notice was that Johnny grew up in such a way that his whole life happened in a few minutes. Johnny's life ended that day. Johnny Walker died that very day, and the beginnings of Sebastian Michealis were born.

But now, watching the past catch up to him, Sebastian was slowly becoming the small, scared boy at the scene of the crime once more, but only this time, Matt wasn't there to make him hate.

So, Ciel sat on his butler's lap with shaking arms forced around the earl, allowing tears to fall onto his head. Though the earl side of Ciel told him that Sebastian's current state was unbefitting of a Phantomhive butler, the young 13-year-old part of him really didn't give a damn. Sebastian had always consoled him when he had nightmares, not matter how small, so why couldn't he lend a small bit of comfort in his seemingly endless, torturous nightmare? So, the young earl simply let his loyal butler hold on to him like a teddy bear.

They stayed that way, till the scene of Henley eating Matt soul came on.

The others stopped sobbing for a brief moment and watched. Even Sebastian's tears slowed. No one said a word as the body of Matthew Walker became a small, black stone, and was made into a ring. Still, everyone wondered just what would become of it.

**__Genus Mali__**

Johnny didn't get very far away from his home before he realized he was lost.

He really had no idea where he was going when he set off, all he knew was that the old farm he grew up in was not where he wanted to be, nor where he ever wanted to return too.

But there he was, teary-eyed and scared out of his mind, lost in the middle of the big, familiar forest he'd ventured since he was very young. He was lost in the woods, but even more so lost in mind.

Despite his being scared, Johnny had no idea what he felt. He was angry at his brother. He was sad for his family. He was a little excited for his new freedom. But he just couldn't classify what it was he felt that moment.

Johnny fell to his knees in the middle of a small clearing when it struck him just how hard the situation was at the moment. He was still only wearing a nightshirt, and he hadn't thought to bring anything with him. Even though it was the middle of spring, a small, sweat-covered, half-dressed little boy like him could easily freeze out in the open as he was.

It was only at this realization that Johnny allowed himself to cry for the first time in a long time. He cried for his father, who never really gave a damn. He cried for all of his father's wives, who were never good enough, just like he wasn't. He cried for his sisters, too young and too innocent to be cut down from their lives as they were. He cried for his brother, who had crushed all the hope and love in his heart. But most importantly, he cried for himself, alone and scared with no one to help him.

Soon, pouring rain began to fall from the sky, like it was crying right along with Johnny.

He cried so hard, he never noticed Henley walk up behind him from within then trees.

The butler silently knelt down next to him, and put a hand on his shoulder.

Johnny jumped at Henley's touch, throwing himself back through the rain and landing in the mud, "Get away from me!" he cried out, "Stay back!"

Henley watched, amused, "You know, screaming at a foe will do nothing to protect you."

"Like you know anything, you bastard," Johnny glared.

Henley stood from his kneeling position and faced the boy, "I do know. I know that you need strength and protection, and you'll do whatever it takes to get it. I can give that to you."

Johnny stopped glaring, "You work for Matt," he said curtly, "Why would you help me?"

"I am a very fickle creature," replied the butler, "I am not one for sticking around with one person for a long time. I find you to be much more interesting."

Johnny stared, "What are you?"

Henley smiled, as he let his true form slowly leak out. He grew wings, his teeth grew sharp, and his eyes went red, "I am simply one hell of a butler."

The boy's eyes widened as the demon returned to his human form, "You're a monster."

The butler laughed, "That's one way of putting it," he got closer to Johnny, "But the question remains, will you make a deal with me?"

Johnny watched him for a minute. He wasn't stupid. He knew what happened when you made deals like these. You usually get killed. But Johnny didn't care, he just needed to be stronger so he could be better than his brother. That's all he wanted.

"I'll do it," he said, surely, "I make a deal with you!"

Henley smiled, "So your abandoning the light for the path to hell..."* he almost stoppewhat's he thought of whose brother this was, but he went on, "Fine. Well then, Let's mark our bodies with the contract seal. The more visible the place where your seal is, the stronger the power. So where do you want-"

"Anywhere is fine," he replied, the little boy from before gone, "I want a power stronger than anyone else's!"

"Your quite greedy, despite your small body," Henley chuckled as he reached a hand to Johnny's eye, "Well then, I'll put it on that big eye of yours, filled with despair."

Johnny screamed only once as searing heat burned into his eye. It felt horrible even after Henley withdrew his hand.

"Well then, go on, give me any order," said Henley, adjusting his tie.

Johnny thought for a second, clutching his marked eye, "Henley, this is an order."

"Yes, young master?" inquired Henley, quite interested in what Johnny would say.

"Make me as strong a demon!"

**__Genus Mali__**

**_*most of the following dialogue is from manga 62_**

**Reviews are candy!**


	8. His Butler, Leading Onward

**Woah! Huge chapter! Sorry for the daily, it just took FOREVER! I choose to self beta this so I could update quicker. Any way, shall wee begin? **

**__Genus Mali_ _**

Everyone stopped.

The temperature of the small, white room went down several degrees as Johnny screamed for his brother's butler to make him as strong as a demon.

Each and everyone of the rag-tag group of people in the room were wrapped up in entirely different thoughts.

No one felt Johnny's hate-filled words more than Ciel. The young earl knew them well. He remembered the pain of the curse mark being put on his eye, the horrible pain that followed. He also remembered his first order to Sebastian (though Ciel was nothing like Johnny's in anyway). Ciel never would have thought that this had happened to his butler. Never. Honestly, the young earl hadn't even _cared_ about Sebastian's past before this whole incident happened.

Ciel always just let himself think that Sebastian was little more than a heartless, evil creature with no other point in life but to devour souls. Where he came from, the earl had fancied a thought of their being a whole demon school with text-books like '30 Minute Souls', 'How to Kidnap Young Orphaned Earls in Five Easy Steps', or 'Being a Creep with Claude Faustus'.

But now, sitting in his butler's lap, Ciel knew that the now shaking man behind him wasn't a monster in the least. If anything, he was just another victim, just like the young earl himself. Both were forced to grow up very young. Both made bad choices. Both were broken down and rebuilt the wrong way. But there were differences.

Ciel noticed one thing while watching Johnny make his order. The young boy had no hesitation, no fear, no regret, nothing at all. All that was in his eyes was a deep sadness that darkened his blue eyes. It was almost like Johnny just didn't care anymore. He had no extreme goal, much unlike Ciel, except that Johnny wanted his brother dead. What startled the earl even more was Henley.

Why would a demon care so much for two humans? What did Henley enjoy so much about his beloved Matthew and his little brother? What was so important to him that made him break the most important rule for demons; giving their master what they want.

Even a demon can't kill someone whose already dead, that much was clear to see. So why would Henley Kitts make a contract that was already completed when it began? If the man wanted to, he could have just eaten Johnny's soul and been done with it. After all the boy had been through, his soul would have most likely been a delicacy, but Henley followed his dead master's orders and stayed with Johnny. It made no sense.

**__Genus Mali_ _**

Johnny looked at his new butler, "Are you deaf? I gave you my orders, now carry them out."

Henley stood shocked for a brief moment by his new master's order, "What?" he asked dumb-founded, "I mean no insult, young master, but the only way for a human to be any way as strong as a demon, the human would eventually become a demon them self. Are you sure you want to do this, young master."

Johnny only glared, ignoring the pain in his contracted eye, "Of course I do."

The butler inwardly sighed, but outward agreed, "Very well, but first you will need to dry off and find a place to rest," he put a hand on Johnny's forehead, "Yes, it seems standing out here in the pouring rain wearing nothing but a nightshirt is a quite easy way for humans to contract fever," Henley said, almost amused.

"Shut up," growled Johnny, now a little tired as the adrenaline left his system, "We are not going back to the farm."

Henley nodded, "Yes, it would pose too many questions in the morning." The butler knew that wasn't why Johnny didn't want to return to his home, but he didn't comment.

"So where will we go?" questioned Johnny, growing colder by the minute.

"For your orders to be fulfilled," answered the butler, as he took off his coat and placed it placed it over his master's head like a cloak, "Will need claim to extreme amounts of money and a staff of people to care for everything we can't. We can easily carry out your plans, but it would be best if we remained on the move."

"And where exactly do you plan to get all this from?" asked Johnny, annoyed.

Henley chuckled, "Well, any butler unable to even get even this small amount of necessities means for his master isn't worth his salt, now is he?"

**__Genus Mali_ _**

Not just Ciel was thinking hard about Sebastian's past.

Each of the servants were equally shocked to learn how their friend became what he was. They felt awful that the person who brought them out of their past had the worst of them all.

Meyrin had been angry before too.

She knew what hate felt like. What it was like to be angry with the world. To not understand why everything bad had to happen to her. The maid had given a good part of her life to revenge in the form of assignation and killing. Meyrin knew how it felt to feel like Johnny did.

It was like acid in your heart slowly burning you apart from the inside out. The only difference was that Meyrin was saved from her anger. She was shaken from her pain by a tall man in a dark suit.

Sebastian took her away from her past and gave her a new life, granted, as a maid, but she loved her new life. She had friends, people she could call family. Finny was her clumsy little brother, Bard the protective brother, Ciel a smart little cousin, Tanaka her caring grandfather, but Sebastian was more. She loved Sebastian, everyone knew that. Not because he was handsome, but because he took away her hatred and replaced it with love.

She would forever be grateful to the butler who saved her. If only she could save him.

**__Genus Mali_ _**

Henley walked through the forest, his master in his arms. The butler was extremely grateful that rain had slowed a bit. Johnny had quickly gone from enraged to tired. The boy somehow felt _safe_ in his butler's care. Maybe it was because Henley acted like Matt did before last night. Maybe it was because the majority of the times Johnny had seen the butler was by his brother's side.

Either way, it wasn't long until Johnny was asleep.

The butler sighed as he moved his new master in his arms. Henley didn't know why he chose to follow the orders of the dead Matthew Walker. Normally, after a soul is consumed, all orders of the past master are null and void by the demon. But Henley Kitts had inwardly vowed to follow Matthew Walker's orders till the end.

Maybe what drew in the butler was Johnny's soul. The last Walker's soul had been calm, innocent, and loving, but over night, darkness and hate surfaced on the top of the once bright being.

But if Henley really wanted the boy's soul, he could have just taken it. Matthew Walker was already dead, so Johnny's order for vengeance was done. Really, there was no need to even put him under contract at all.

Why Henley put Johnny under contract, and agreed to protect the boy, even the butler didn't really know. But he did it. A demon had gone soft and he cared about a human. Henley made the mistake of allowing Matt into his cold heart. The young heir made the demon not just his trusted butler, but his honest friend. Most demons don't have a friend in the world, but Henley gained two; Matt and his little brother gave his dark life a little light.

Taking Matt's soul made the friends one in the same; Henley would never miss him. But Johnny was different. Matt's 'betrayal' made the younger brother want strength and power, which was Matt's plan. What neither butler or heir expected was Johnny's order.

If Johnny's wish to be as powerful as demon was fulfilled, then his soul would be forfeit and he would become a demon. Henley knew that his late master would never allow it, but the butler also knew that Johnny would not be swayed. The best thing he could do was to try and make the rest of his young master's humanity as easy as possible.

If he couldn't at least do that, well what kind of butler would he be?

**__Genus Mali_ _**

Finni hugged his legs as he keep his eyes glued to the screen.

The gardener was afraid of what he saw. He grew up as a freak. A monster used for horrifying experiments. No one cared what happened to him. He had no friends except for bird. He didn't know the outside. He was a freak. But then Sebastian brought him to the manor.

Finny spent most of his first days there breaking everything, but he still loved his new home. He didn't no much about plants, but he loved the garden. Mr. Sebastian taught him enough that he at least didn't kill everything in the garden. He made friends too. Bard and Meyrin didn't think that he was a freak like anyone else he ever knew. The young master didn't give him shots every day. Tanaka always helped fix whatever he broke. Finny had a family. He had people who cared about him.

It killed the gardener inside to know that the person who saved him went through something like he did.

Johnny Walker was only kept around for the benefit of others. His mother died and his father treated him as a servant instead of a son. His sister treated him like dirt and the only person who ever cared about him was taken away from him. And a dark savior came and took him away, broken.

As Finny watch the screen, he felt like he watched his own past. They way he saw it, Johnny was him. Mr. Walker was the scientists. The sisters were the lab assistants. Matthew Walker was the birds. Henley Kitts was Sebastian Michealis and the manor.

So, not knowing what else to do about what he felt, Finny cried.

**__Genus Mali__**

Henley carried his master out of the woods, taking great care not to end up anywhere near the Walker farm. The butler looked around him to get his bearings straight. It seemed that they were on a wagon path used to transport goods to market by farmers and merchants. By the signs of the tire tracks in the dirt, it was recently used by a richer foreign merchant, as the tracks weren't familiar to Henley.

Day was coming quickly, and his master was still sick. Henley followed the wagon tracks down the road quickly.

It wasn't long until he found the source of the foreign tracks. Along the side of the rode was a fat, pompous-looking man in purple silks. He wore gold rings on both of his hands, a huge silver chain around his neck, and he had a large purse at his side that was full to the brim. His wagon was more of a grand carriage with room for goods. It had scarlet walls on the outside with red trim, and the back was covered with a thick black silk, like a product before it went on display. The carriage/wagon was pulled by two huge horses, one black with a white dot around its left eyes and one white with a black dot around its right eye. The man fat man had two gorgeous, half-dressed Chinese women on both his sides.

Henley smiled too himself as he saw that the carriage was stuck in a hole. It was too easy.

"Excuse me sir!" called out the butler, putting on a grave face, "I need your help."

The fat man growled, "What do you need that could possibly concern me, fèi wù*?"

Henley ran over to him in a fake pant, "My young friend here is very sick," he said with false worry, "He need medicine and warmth. Can you help us?"

"No, fèi wù," answered the man, putting an arm around one of the women, "Frankly I don't care if your friend here dies. You are both gǒushǐ** and I wish to have nothing to do with you."

Henley sighed at the horrible man, "I truly did not want to have to do this."

"What are you talking about, fèi wù?" asked the man, taken a back.

Henley replied nothing, only walked over to a tree along side the road and put down his master, "I'll be right back, young master," he whispered, "I simply must remove the trash from our presences."

**__Genus Mali__**

The chef of the Phantomhive estate had no words to describe how he felt. Bard knew he should be mad. He should be upset. He should be horrified. What stopped him was that he knew Sebastian would never forgive him if he did.

In the Phantomhive manor, the strongest was the leader. Ciel was the young master, but he was not the leader of the house, he was too young to know how to really run a household on his own, so everything was left to the servants.

Meyrin was too fickle with her emotions (one second, she was cold as a rock, the next, she would cry over a broken plate). Finny was too naive (he'd believe a murder if he smiled at him). Snake was too self-conscience (you can't trust a staff to do a job if you can't trust yourself... says Dan). Tanaka was too old to run a house all on his own (he does enough as it is).

So all that was left was Bard and Sebastian. In all, the Phantomhive chef and butler were probably the only two in the house with much sense. No, most of the household was easily smarter than Bard in knowledge and academics, but he had practical knowledge. He knew that if Meyrin was told to get out the good china, he should probably get the broom and tissues ready to go. Bard knew that if Finny was going to weed the garden, next time he walked through he should watch out for craters. He knew that if he went in Snake's room, he should have anti-toxins in his pocket. Bard knew for a fact that if the young master screamed at night, the butler would handle it without doubt. He also knew that if Sebastian said something twice, you better remember it.

But there was one fact that the chef found to be the most important above. It was a fact that was pretty clear if you thought about it, but it was on a subject no one seemed to pay much mind too.

Bard knew for a fact that Sebastian was a soldier.

The butler probably never fought in a war, but he was as good as any soldier Bard ever knew. In his own war, Bard met many men, but very few that fought for a sense of loyalty for their country. Most did what did for the glory, or adventure. They never realized just how stupid their goals were until they were six feet under and nine feet wide. But Sebastian was just like one of those few good men that fought for reason.

The butler never asked for much in return for what he did, but he always went above and beyond. Before, Bard just thought Sebastian simply was 'just one hell of a butler', but after watching his past, Bard knew it was more than that.

Johnny Walker grew up a servant looking to please everyone. He knew that if he did something wrong, he would be severely punished no matter how bad the fault, and he knew that if he did something right, he wouldn't be an issue for his beloved family. Johnny was a being made to please. He was loyal, humble, trustworthy, and probably didn't even know the concept or purpose of a lie. But when Matt left him, Johnny's world turned upside down. He lost everything he knew, and worse, he lost his purpose. Bard knew that to not have a purpose was the worst thing anyone could go through. It was like having a hole in your heart that nothing can fill. The big difference between the chef and the butler though, was how they filled their hearts with purpose.

Bard had filled the hole in his heart with speed. He found that if he did things quickly, they got done faster, and if things were done faster, he had more time to do other things. The more Bard did, the more purpose he had.

But Sebastian's heart was only partially filled. The butler took on his jobs with skill and accuracy, but the humble Johnny Walker part of him wouldn't let him gain pride from it. No matter what Sebastian did, Johnny would never let him find piece.

Because of that, Sebastian was the real leader of the Phantomhive household. He was the only one who they could count on to do his job without fail, but now everyone knew why. Not because he was a demon, but because Johnny Walker was simply one of hell of a soldier.

Bard honored the butler the best way he could; by forcing onto him the pride he should have had all along. This was why the chef did not sorrow for him. Because Sebastian was not breaking down, he was just tough enough too last this long.

**__Genus Mali_ _**

Henley stood up from the dead body of the rich merchant. His soul wasn't much of a feast, but it was still a soul.

The two Chinese woman had long run off down the road, actually thanking the demon for freeing them.

Henley collected his master from the tree and leaned him against the cart, "Young master," he said slightly shaking the boy, "It's time to wake up."

"Um..." moaned Johnny, slowly waking, "What is it, Henley? Did you find so where to stay?"

"Yes," answered the butler with a smile, "And I believe that I have solved most of our problems," he raised a hand to Johnny's forehead, "Hum, it seems like your fever has dropped. Splendid."

Henley helped Johnny to stand up, and they examined the contents of the carriage. In the front passenger part of it, they found many maps of several countries, a book of recorded trades and deals, some unfinished paper work, merchants weights, and twelve bags of thick gold, silver, and copper coins. On top of the carriage, Henley found rich silk in several colors, a chest full of jewelry, and a few other expensive trinkets.

They took a brief few minutes for Johnny to change out of his wet clothes into some less expensive ones they found in the cargo. Henley also took a thin length a white silk and wrapped it around his master's contract eye, like a bandage.

"Henley," called Johnny, now feeling a bit better, "What's in the back?"

The back of the carriage remained untouched at this point. The showy black silk covering had yet to be removed.

"I will see young master," the butler said, jumping down from the roof and walking to the back. He grabbed hold of the cover firmly and gave a tug on the cloth. As the fabric fluttered to the ground, both master and servant took a step back, wide-eyed.

**__Genus Mali_ _**

Snake was almost as quiet as Bard as he watched the screen.

The young snake-man hadn't known Sebastian all that long, but he did know one thing; Sebastian Michealis was a man of extreme loyalty.

As he said many times, Sebastian was a butler to the core. He did everything with out argument, and did it right every time. He worked so hard and then he worked harder. But he didn't just work hard for his master, he worked hard for everyone.

Every time a fellow servant needed help, you always found the butler right there. Even little things that wouldn't effect his contract or his orders in anyway, Sebastian would still help. The butler did little things that one else took much mind to, but Snake noticed. He'd remembered one day, he had been in the garden eating lunch with his snakes (they weren't allowed in the kitchen). Snake knew that Finny would be out there, so he hid in the bushes, as far away from the nutcase with lawn clippers as humanly possible. As he ate his sandwich, he listened to Finny murder the daffodils (it sounds just like the Threnody for the Victims of Hiroshima by Penderecki, look it up). But the sound of the dying daffodils was broken by a loud crash. Snake looked over his leafy barrier of protection to see the gardener on his stomach holding a fallen bird's nest in his hands and a huge tree limb next to him.

Snake was going to help him, but the ever present butler got their first. Sebastian sent Finny inside so that he could try and save the daffodils (good luck, Sebas-chan...). But the gardener refused, say he needed to help the birds. The butler considered him for a moment, then took the nest from his hands and said he would take care of it.

After Finny left, and Sebastian was sure no one was watching, (he didn't look in the leafy barrier of protection), the butler took the birds nest in his hands and climbed up the tree that Finny hadn't destroyed. What shocked the hiding Snake was that he didn't do it with his normal speed, but Sebastian handled the birds with enormous care. For a second, he watched the baby birds chirp with focused red eyes. He looked... Calm.

But know, watching Sebastian's torture, Snake realized that it wasn't calm that he saw, but it was young Johnny breaking through the hard demon's facade as he held the birds with a tender, gentle care.

The happy moment sadly ended when Wordsworth ate one of birds and Sebastian discovered the leafy barrier of protection.

_**_Genus Mali_ **_

Slaves. The merchant was trading slaves.

Underneath the black silk, their was malnourished, scared children of ages varying from eight to twelve. In all, Henley counted five of them; three boys and two girls. The boys only wore worn out, patched shorts, and the girls tattered remains of what once were dresses.

When Henley removed the cloth, they all flinched back at the flash of light. With a startled nodded from his master, Henley broke the latch off the cage with his hand and motioned for the children to exit, but all of them moved back further.

"Come on," said Henley, smiling, "We aren't going to hurt you."

One of the older children, a boy, looked at the butler for second like he was judging his intent, then nodded to the others. All the children exited the cage, but stayed away from their saviors and huddled close together.

Johnny examined each of them as he regained his composer. They all looked English, so they most likely spoke English as well, "My name is John," he said carefully, "Do you speak English."

The taller of the girls glared, "Of course we speak English!" she spat, "We aren't idiots!" The smaller girl grabbed her sleeve and she picked her up, "We don't need your help getting to London from her, we'll be fine from there." She motioned to the rest to follow her as she went to move away.

Johnny went to stop her, but Henley intervened, "We have a proposition for you," he said, still smiling, "You will be provided for, give clothing, food, and everything else you need to live."

The girl, who obviously was the bravest of the group, was the first to respond, "And what would that be?" she sneered.

"All we ask is for assistance on our journeys in the form of labor," responded the butler.

"So you want us to be paid slaves?" laughed the girl, while her friend whispered to each other in the back, "We may have no where to go, but frankly, none of us ever want to serve anyone again-"

"We'll take the job," stated the eldest boy.

The girl turned, "What?! Are you nuts this is our chance to be free!"

He brushed past her and went to Johnny, "I apologize for my friend. We wouldn't make it a minute on the streets or in that cage. What would you have us do, master?"

Johnny looked to his butler, a little unsure. Henley gave him a gentle smile and a nod.

"First things first," said Johnny, "From this day forward, none of you are slaves. You are independent beings that I ask for help. The only thing I ask of you that will hold for the rest of your lives is this; leave your past behind you. This is your new life, and with new lives come new names. I ask you, if you are ready to give up your pasts, say your name out loud and your age, so I can give your your new life."

For a moment, no one said a word, but then, the eldest boy spoke as he bowed on one knee, "James Martin, twelve."

Johnny examined the boy. He had mousy hair and one gray eye and one green eye.

"You are Lyn now, the brave lion," replied Johnny, "You will be my second."

Then the youngest girl broke away from the others sleeve and bowed next to the boy, "I will stay by my brother," she said, "Jean Martin, eight." The girl had the same hair as her brother, but she had gray eyes.

"You are now Talia, the loyal lamb," answered Johnny, "You will assist Lyn in his duties."

Next, a large, muscular boy with red knelt on the other side of Lyn, "I may not be much, but if they join you, maybe I can help as well. I am Bob Johnson, 10."

Johnny looked at him, "You shall be Remo, the strong one, and you will run the horses and other labors."

Then, the smallest of the boys joined his friends on the ground. He was short, thin, and had white hair and silvery eyes, "I am Evan Jacob. I am eight years old, and I wish to be of service to you in anyway I can!"

Johnny chuckled, "I will call you Titus, the pleasing one. You will assist Remo."

After they were named, everyone turned to the eldest girl. She stood proud, watching her friends silently. The girl had tan skin, black hair, and green eyes.

"I will join your quest," she said, glaring, "Only to be with those I care about. But I will not bow to you. As you said, from this day forth, I am free and you will not take that from me. My name is Ginny Brook, I am ten."

Johnny thought for a second, "I agree with you," he said, ,"So, from this day on, may the world know you as Lysandra, the one who is freed. And you will oversee everyone else, and be the protector of the one's you care about. You never know when you may lose them, so keep them close."

Lysandra watch Johnny in amazement, then she shook her head and looked at him, "Who are _you_?" she asked, "So that _we_ may give _you_ a new life."

Johnny was shocked for a second, then he once again looked at Henley, who nodded.

"I am John Walker, son of the Walker house, but everyone calls me Johnny, so you may as well" Johnny began, "I was a servant to my family. My butler is Mr. Henley Kitts. This is the life I leave behind. I am nine."

The ex-slaves watched Johnny silently, considering him. They seemed deep in thought about what to call their leader.

"If I may," interrupted the butler, "But as this fine carriage is now ours..." He motioned to the gold edged lettering on the sides of the carriage. They boldly and grand spelled out:

**_THE WESTERN TRAVELING CARAVAN: _**

**_LEAD ONWARD_**

Few of the children actually seemed able to read the sign, but Lyn picked up on it quickly, "I see!" He exclaimed, laughing, "As your second, I declare that your butler- Henley was it? Yes, Henley is right. From this day on, you are Johnny TRAVELER. Walking is to slow, but is we call it traveling, I think we can get pretty far."

Remo laughed deep, as soon as he managed to decipher the sign, "Yes'" he happily observed, "Johnny Traveler, we serve our savior, the Lord of the Western Caravan!"

As the new Western Caravan cheered (except Lysandra, who just watched them), Johnny thought about what he was doing. Now there was no turning back. By taking on his new servants, and giving them a new life, all of it meant that Johnny Walker was gone. Their was no way he could ever be the same person he was before. Lyn was right, he could walk fast enough to escape his past, so would just have travel far to get way. He'd be Johnny Traveler, as Remo said, the Lord of the Western Caravan.

"May he lead onward," said Henley, putting a hand on his masters shoulder. The butler reached into his waist pocket and grabbed his master's soul. He the pulled it out and quite quickly slipped on his new master's finger, "Every lord needs a fine show of nobility. May this be your's."

Johnny thumbed the black stone of the ring and nodded, "Yes, this will be fine."

Titus was lifted on to Remo's shoulders, and he repeated the butler, "Lead Onward!" he cried.

"Lead Onward!" every one agreed.

Johnny couldn't help but smile at the group's proclamation, "May we all lead onward," he said, "That is our vow."

**__Genus Mali_ _**

While all the other servants mourn their butler in their own way, Tanaka was the only one really watching the screen with the reapers.

Grell watch Johnny intently, comment once in a while about how adorable his was. William just just examined the video, sometimes turning to the present butler, comparing the two.

But Tanaka found something no one else could find in the past of Sebastian; Johnny was still alive in Sebastian.

Only an old man like him could notice the little things that the butler did. Sebastian watch over the house like would his own family. If Tanaka would guess, he was trying to make up for the past.

As the steward watched Johnny Walker become Johnny Traveler, he saw a glint in his eye. Johnny Walker had a family. Johnny Traveler had a caravan. But Sebastian Michealis had a household. They were all the same thing, really. Each of version of the Phantomhive butler put others before him. When Johnny Walker's family was killed by the one he held closest to him, Johnny Traveler was born replace the hole in his heart. But then the Caravan replaced his family. It was a guess, but Tanaka figured that his current household was a family to Sebastian, proving Johnny to still be alive, but so was The Lord of the Western Caravan. Sebastian still a little broken, still sad, but still moving on. He was proud and strong but meek and humble. Sebastian was born to lead.

What assured Tanaka of his thought was how the current master and servant were at the moment. Ciel sat on his butler's lap, holding the demon's arms around him. Despite being unconscious, Sebastian was still holding tight to his master. The butler smiled a little bit as the scene went on.

The steward watched the two for a moment, drawing a brief likeness of a lion and a lamb to them. He was pulled out of his trance when he saw the butler's head slowly dip to the side.

Tanaka moved a little closer and laid a hand on his forehead, brushing hair out of his eyes. No one else noticed the change, the steward noticed Sebastian's lips moving ever so slightly. Tanaka leaned a little closer, and he smiled as he made out what the butler whispered so joyously.

"Lysandra," was what Sebastian said, "Lyn. Remo. Little Titus. Talia. Henley."

He whispered all the names of those who he had long ago, like he couldn't even believe he was seeing them. It made the old steward's heart that Johnny had a family. Granted, a rather broken one, but a family. Tanaka brushed back the butler's hair that now had a full on blonde streak along the left side, "Lead onward," the steward whispered, before he sat back down in his spot.

The next thing anyone registered, three things happened; The screen went black just as Johnny made his vow, a small package appeared in front of the screen, and Sebastian's eye bolted opened.

**__Genus Mali_ _**

**_*good for nothing_**

**_**worthless shit_**

**_For every review, we punch the merchant!_**


	9. His Butler, Human

**_Hi! I really don't like this chapter (too short) but it's important... :)_**

**_Anyway, I actually have an important announcement:_**

**_THERE IS A POLL ON MY PROFILE. I NEED IT COMPLETED SOON OR I CANNOT CONTINUE THE STORY. ALSO, BEFORE YOU SELECT A CHOICE ON THE POLL, KNOW THAT IT EFFECTS THE REST OF THE STORY COMPLETELY!_**

**_..._**

**_Ehem..._**

**_Thank you..._**

**_Disclaimer: I don't own Kuroshitsuji_**

**__Genus Mali__**

The first thing Ciel noticed was the faster heartbeat of his butler.

The young earl had been carried more times then he liked by Sebastian, but from it he knew very well that demons rarely had heartbeats, and if they did, it was faint.

But the thumping he heard from Sebastian's chest was most certainly a heartbeat, a _loud_, _horrified_ heartbeat.

Before Ciel could get up to see what had happened, Sebastian gave a sharp shriek and push him off before throwing himself on his knees.

Everyone rushed over to the butler's side, trying to help, but Sebastian merely stayed were he was, panting heavily on his hands and knees. Soon, with combined effort of Bard and William, Sebastian was leaned against the wall again, this time though, he leaned his head back, eyes closed firmly, and supported himself against the wall. The others gathered around him rapidly.

"Sebas-chan?" inquired Grell, as he leaned beside William.

"I'm fine," Sebastian managed between pants, "Just... tired..."

Tanaka helped him to sit more comfortably against the wall as everyone took in what happened.

Just while they watch the screen, Sebastian had changed so much. He eyes were now mostly blue, but a little red still clung to the edges. The one dirty blonde streak in his hair made a mighty contrast to the usually calm hair of the butler. Also, his skin looked tanner then normal. But the main worry of the group was the expression on Sebastian's face.

The butler usually was a silent person, but this wasn't normal. Sebastian kept his head down, eyes trained on his hands. He kept wringing his hands, mostly feeling the spot where the soul ring of Matthew Walker was on his brother's hand. The Phantomhive butler had a blank, expressionless look on his face. He looked... Broken. He looked like Johnny, not Sebastian. What ever made the butler what he was began fading the second they found out the angel's intentions.

"Sebastian?" asked Ciel, intently watching his faithful servant, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," the butler snapped, "I said I was fine alright?"

The earl flinched. Snapping at people wasn't like Sebastian at all. Normally it was Ciel snapping at the butler, not the other way around. But unlike the earl, Sebastian had an excuse.

The butler quickly registered his previous words and quick lowered his head, "I apologize, my lord."

Everyone flinched at that, not because of hurt, but more of shock. It was not part of the butler's famous '_ethics_' to himself to others, even his master. If he made a mistake, a sarcastic bow was much more likely to happen. Such a humbling act was not something Sebastian ever did, but it seemed a very likely thing for Johnny Walker to do. As that registered in their minds, it became apparent that snapping at his master was also not a common occurrence for the level headed butler. That was when they realize both John Walker and Johnny Traveler were becoming present in their butler. The bright side was that it seemed clear that Sebastian wasn't completely gone, just very mixed up with his human selves.

"It's alright, Sebastian," Ciel responded, coming out of his shock.

"And you are most certainly not alright, Mr. Sebastian!" argued Finny, "Please tell us what's wrong."

"Tell us what's going on, Sebastian," agreed Bard, "We're your friends, we can help!"

"If you just stay silent it can't be good for your health, says Dan," responded Snake.

"Yes," calmed Tanaka, "Remaining quiet is never good."

"Sebastian, just-"

"_**SHUT UP!**_" screamed the butler, hugging his legs and throwing head down, "Please just shut the hell up! Please!"

Everyone was silent, leaving only the butler's crying as the only sound in the room. They let him sob for a few minutes, no one moving. They just watched as the ever faithful butler had a breakdown. It was about three minutes before anyone moved to comfort him.

Tanaka knelt beside the butler, and rubbed his back gently. Sebastian tensed for a second but then continued sobbing.

Not even Grell interrupted. In fact, said red reaper looked about ready to burst into tears himself. The rest of them were in lesser states of despair, as well. They all had once again say against the wall, but Ciel now sat by his servant's instead of by the butler. There wasn't a sound in the room except for Sebastian's slowing sobs, and Tanaka's quiet comforting whispers.  
It was moments like this that the servants were amazed and grateful for the elderly steward. Tanaka truly was like a grandfather to all of them. He was their guide in times of failure, a doctor in times of pain, a scolding in times of mistake, and a comforter when things got rough. Most guests to the manner would always ask just exactly what the man was steward of. Even Sebastian knew the answer right away. Sebastian maybe the caretaker of the house, but Tanaka was the care taker of those in the house.

Soon, the sobs subsided, and Sebastian wiped his eyes with his sleeve, then once again looked at his hands, wringing hands.

"What's in the package?" Finny questioned, breaking the silence.

"I'll check," said Bard, "It's probably from that damn angel."

It was. Inside was a beige envelope, a small rectangular wrapped box, a flat wicker basket, and a container emanating a delicious aroma.

"What do you know!" chuckled Bard, "The angel actually did get us food."

In the container was a rich, spicy curry with a few small loaves of buttery buns and a canteen with hot tea inside. They opened the flat basket to find what looked like china from the manors cabinets and some the silver ware. Along with the knives and forks, their was a small note in curly writing with the words, "I'm not all bad," on it.

Instead of digging into it like they wanted to, everyone stared at it, drooling.

"Should we eat it?" questioned Grell.

"Gah," moaned Bard, "It's the damn apple pie all over again!"

"At least we knew Sebastian didn't poison the pie before we ate it," argued Finny.

"You ate the pie?" said Sebastian, who jerked his head up, "That's where the damn thing went? When did I give permission to do that?"

"You told us to clean it up!" defended Meyrin.

"Since when do 'clean' and 'eat' mean the same thing?" replied a now rather exasperated butler.

"Stop it all of you! We need to figure this out. You can argue about pie later" said Ciel, trying quite hard not to laugh at his out-of-charachter butler. He was pretty sure that at the moment it was more Traveler than Michealis at the moment, but the earl had to admit that an annoyed, good-humored butler was much much more entertaining than a strict, no-nonsense butler.

While the servants were arguing about pie, William went up to the food and cautiously put a finger in it. When he tasted the curry, he nodded in approval to himself, but when he tasted the bread, William made a very William-like face of shock, but it was quickly replaced with an another nod of approval.

"The curry is safe for the humans," he said, "But not the bread."

"Why?" questioned Grell, picking up the bread.

"At first glance," he said, taking a small bite, "It's butter bread. But when you taste it, it's not butter."

"And you eat it?" asked Finny, who already was eating curry.

Grell had taken a bite of the bread and his face became very joyful, "Ambrosia!"

"Really?" Sebastian raised an eyebrow, "Why would the angel give the food of the gods to us?"

"Hum..." William thought, picking up the note, "Perhaps she's asking for forgiveness."

"As she says, 'what a riot!" The butler rolled his eyes, "Angels are arrogant and self-centered. Why would one want forgiveness from us?"

The reaper sighed, "Who knows?"

They then all ate in silence.

**__Genus Mali__**

"You know," said Bard, after they finished, "We never looked at what was in the last box, or the letter."

At that, Meyrin passed the box to Sebastian and opened the envelope as everyone sat back down, "'To the readers of this message..." she read:

To the readers of this message;

The first half of the Recall has been completed. Now that the beginning has been successful, and an appropriate amount of humanity has been drawn out from the guilty. Because of this, the Council has issued warrant to begin the second half of the Recall.

In the second half, there are two options to take. The chose may only be made by the guilty, and no one may interfere:

A. The course of the first half of the Recall may continue and completely merge the human soul with the immortal soul to return the being into an immortal human existence. The guilty would be rendered unconscious for the whole of the event. The result would be a completed soul and an immortal life expectancy, but the loss of all immortal powers. (A note: This is the more common and recommended choice.)

B. The guilty may open the enclosed package. Inside of the package is a belonging of the it's from there other life. When touched, the idem will take the immortal soul of the guilty and will begin the Recall again with the guilty conscious. At the end, the guilty's soul will become mortal, but the being's immortal abilities will remain. Also, the remains of the immortal soul will become that of mortal, and one worthy deceased being from the past of the guilty will return to the earth as an immortal.

When the letter was read, everyone looked to Sebastian. The butler looked at the box intently.

"Well," said Bard, "It's pretty clear that Sebastian's going under again."

"How do we choose our choice?" asked Grell.

While everyone else spoke about the first choice, Sebastian put a hand on the boxes lid.

"What are you doing Sebastian?" question the earl. "Open it and you lose your immortality. It's not worth it."

"Power isn't," the butler said, as he began to open it and everyone shushed, "But life is."

He opened the box.

_Genus Mali_

Inside the box, sat a rather out of place object. It was surrounded by a rich, expensive orange velvet with a black checkered print. In it laid an old, worn out bracer with a scabbard holding some kind of blade with a circular hole in the top.

Sebastian held it by the box and smiled, "Well, I'll be damned."

The rest of the group was less happy, "Why Sebas-chan?" exclaimed Grell, sobbing, "Now we can't grow old together!"

"Do you care about anything else?" asked William, "What the demon does is his business, not ours."

"Sebastian," asked a shocked Ciel, "Are you nuts? Why would you do that?"

"Yeah, Mr. Sebastian, why would you give up immortality for power?" questioned Finny.

Bard was more expressive in his opinions, "Are you daft man?"

Sebastian looked up from the box, "No, and there are much more things to this then life or power."

"Of course," interrupted William, "You want the one thing no one else could give you. You want to give back a life."

Sebastian nodded, "I want to give back one of the lives that I gave up for my own purpose," he fingered the box, "Even if it's just one, I did... things I'm not proud of back then. I want to right all of the things of done to those who's only crime was loving me. My only problem, is which one do I save when this is all over?"

"It seems," William adjusted his glasses, "You won't have a choice. The contract states the your immortal soul will go to the most worthy being of your past life."

"So it seems," replied Sebastian, "Well, I guess we should just get this over with."

He picked up the bracer.

**__Genus Mali__**_

Sebastian's eyes widened as the cool metal touched his palm.

He couldn't breath.

Wait since when did he need to breath?

Demons don't breathe.

It was really happening?

Sebastian...

once again

Human

...

...

once...

...

...  
again

...

...

...  
serving...  
falling...  
losing...  
dying...  
...

for those he loved

...

...  
...

and it felt...

...  
...good

...  
Then he was woken by a voice...

...

He had to go on...

...

...  
Human or not...

...

He was still one hell of a butler...

**__Genus Mali_ _**

**_review! Poll! Happiness!_**


	10. His Butler, Gifted

**_Quick, now:_**

**_Vote on my poll (AGAIN CANNOT FINISH STORY WITHOUT A GOOD NUMBER OF RESULTS! IT'S JUST ONE CLICK FOR SEVERAL CHAPTERS OF ENJOYMENT!)_**

**_Reviews are love also!_**

**_Disclaimer: I don't own Kuroshitsuji_**

**__Genus Mali__**

Sebastian had fallen to the ground in spasms.

Bard and Will grabbed the butler by each arm and helped him to the ground. The spasms continued for a good five minutes, the servants, their master, and even the Reapers help less to do anything for him. It broke their hearts as the butler writhed in pain on the ground.

Soon after the spasms stopped, Sebastian supported himself on hands and knees. He panted for a minute or two, not moving. Finally, he managed to stand up, wobbling, but standing.

The butler held a hand to his head in a daze, the other clutched the box with the bracer in it. Sebastian leaned against the far wall for support.

By the time he reached the wall, most of the group was out of their daze. They quickly went to him, but Sebastian just brushed them away.

"I'm fine," he said, turning around and leaning his back against the wall, "Just had the wind knocked out of me, is all..." He stopped, "Oh god, what am I saying?"

Ciel held back his laughter at the befuddled butler. It was oddly funny to watch the normally calm and cool demon completely confused by his own words. Though, in all truth, it was very weird to hear Sebastian talking like a peasant, but it was still humorous. The earl looked around to find the rest of those in the room as amused as he was, even the butler had to chuckle a bit.

After the butler got over his confusion, he examined the bracer in his hand, "Damn thing," he said to no one in particular, "All way's a bother."

"What'd you mean, Mr. Sebastian?" questioned Finny.

Just after the gardener said that, the screen flickered back on, "I guess you'll see for yourself," answered the butler, as he sat by the wall while he began undo the strings and clasps holding the bracer closed.

**__Genus Mali__**

Winter had fallen quite to quickly.

The forest was blanketed with a thick coat of white, as well as London and most of England. It was much to cold to work, but the harvest in the fall had been plentiful, so no one really minded. The English all took the white winter as a gift from on high and used it for rest and relaxation, along with some recreation. Children were out of school, men spent time with their families, and women took the time to make splendrous meals and desserts.

But what all of London looked forward to were the fairs.

Colorful clowns, beautiful dancers, enticing snake-charmers, strong wrestlers, lovely singers, and much more. With the entertainers came merchants and such that traded wonderful trinkets and toys, as well as more valuable goods or surplus harvests.

The most beloved group of such entertainers and traders, was a small, rarely-seen group. They took old, hidden roads, and came quickly before they left just as fast. But there performances were amazing. The group was quite small, being most young men and women, but they had many tricks and gimmicks up there sleeve as well as wonderful goods to trade. You could always know who they were by the symbol they wore of a crown, a moon, and a sun.

There was much speculation amongst the public about the group. Every time they came to town, things went missing, people lost money, or sometimes people disappeared entirely. It was a strange coincidence, but the groups wonderful performance usually turned away accusations quickly.

In London, fair day had finally come. Performer and merchant came and went as normal, but then, the sound of a much grander crowd came along in a gilded wagon, lead by a black horse and a white horse.

"Woah there Dot!" cried the red-haired teen holding the reins, "You too Spot."

The horses stopped in the middle of the city square as an excited crowd soon began to gather. The teenage boy in the driver's seat of the carriage wore a bright red, checkered cloak over his shoulder, and a scarlet tunic with black letter pants. His chipper appearance was blown away by his sheer muscle build, which made him easily able to guide the two horses. On his shoulder was a tattoo in the emblem of a crown, a sun, and a moon.

"Ehem," began the teen as he stood, "Titus, would you care to begin?"

From the back of the carriage, a smaller white haired boy hoped up to the roof of the carriage. He wore a shiny, eye-catching white cape with a hood. His shirt and pants were both pure white, but a patch on his shirt bore the same image from the other boy's shoulder.

"Gladly, Remo," said Titus, "Ladies and gentlemen!" he then cried in a louder voice, "Children of all ages! I present to you, the one and only, Western Traveling Caravan!"

At Titus' announcement, the crowds cheered loudly as the boy gave them all a dashing smile and waved to them all brightly, "We bring you the finest in entertainment there is," he proudly proclaimed, "We dare to do what others would not, simply to give you the best quality we can possibly preform for you!"

The back of the carriage opened wide, "If you do not believe what I say," continued Titus, "Then please bare witness to the great Lyn, the magician of one-thousand tricks!"

From the back of the carriage came another teenage boy. He wore bright yellow mixed with black and a strange tunic with a tall collar and a crooked bottom that went to the left. The crown emblem was above the odd bottom of his shirt. He didn't look like much a wizard, except for his two different colored eyes.

"Do not be alarmed!" cried Titus to the crowds, "For our wizard is not here to befuddle your minds or harm you in anyway, but watch as Lyn stupefies you and excites your senses."

Lyn smirked and gave a deep, low bow to the crowds. When he raised from his bow, he surprised the crowd by flipping back quickly on his hands, doing a reverse cart wheel. Lyn's feet hit the carriage, and he pushed forward, throwing himself in the air.

Unnoticed by the crowd, mid-flip, Lyn grabbed a black powder from his sleeve. His blew it into the air as he landed on his knee.

The crowd watched the black powder sprinkle to the ground, and Lyn then turned and snapped. In the air, the powder exploded into ash before the crowd's eyes.

Everyone cheered loudly as the fire in the sky died down. Lyn bowed one final time before he flipped into the audience itself, doing much smaller tricks as he went off. He landed and waved to Titus and Remo on the carriage as he disappeared into London.

A few of the crowd followed the magician, hoping to see more magic, but what was left of the crowd had there eyes on the carriage.

"If you still don't have faith in our extraordinary ability," Titus went on, "Then perhaps my friend, our great, terrific strong man, will sway your minds, yes?"

Remo took his cue and bowed to the audience from the front of the wagon. He leaped from the seat and on the horses back gracefully on both hands. Neither Spot or Dot (as they were named), flinched, as the horses had been trained well.

Remo amazed the audience by switching hands and undoing the horses hold on the carriage upside down. The red-clad strong man whispered to the horses and, with him still doing a hand-stand between there backs, rode in a circle side by side around the carriage. While the horses circled, Remo flipped in the air and landed on the horses' backs again.  
After a few gravity-defying flips, Remo leaped off the horses. He bowed to audience once, then went to the back over the carriage.

The strongman grabbed hold of the bottom of the carriage, and pulled out a thin, mini platform from underneath. Remo laid it on the ground and motioned for Dot and Spot to come over to him and onto the platform.

"We ask the audience for absolute silence during this amazing feat!" asked Titus loudly, as the crowd hushed.

As the two horses walked onto the platform, Remo quickly laid down and lifted up one side. As the horses got on, the teen scooted further down, till Remo was directly underneath it, and the horse were being supported by the boy below them.

Titus raised his hands for applause, which the strongman received, as Remo had the horses walk off, "Wonderful isn't he?" boldly asked a smiling Titus.

Remo laughed heartily once he was standing again. The strongman stood on the horses backs, one foot on each, as he rod off in a different direction then Lyn had taken.

More of the crowd followed Remo, but the remainder stayed to see what else the caravan could possibly offer.

"Though I doubt you were not please by Remo's act," declared Titus, "You will most certainly enjoy our next act!" He stomped hard on the carriage roof. At his stomp, a tall man in a black suit quickly walked out with a dagger tied to a length of rope. The man threw it strong, and it stuck firmly into the roof of a near by bakery. The black suited man threw the other part of the rope up to Titus and bowed to audience as he left.

Titus pulled the rope, once he was sure it was suck tight, he tied it to a hook on the front of the carriage. He stomped again and cranking sound was heard. The hook went higher up as a pole with similar hooks made up the difference in height, making the rope even, "Everyone," he said when the rope was all the way up, "This carriage is fifteen feet high. The pole is up five feet. Meaning that the rope is at twenty feet in the air."

Titus clapped his hands, "But, for you entertainment, one of our daring performers will climb this height and, without a safety, reach the adjourning roof."

The audience cheered in awe and excitement, as they wondered what brave man would try this feat.

"Everyone, please give your round of applause to the lovely rose of our caravan, Talia!" cried out Titus, raising his arms.

Out of the main doors of the carriage, along the sides, came a teenage girl with mousy hair cut off at her shoulders. Her beauty stole away the audience, with her silver eyes, bright smile, and thin body. She wore a skin tight, rose colored unitard (which the women of the crowd cried in outrage to such indecency) with a short, transparent, pink dress over it. In her hair was a small golden crown like the one on the caravan's emblem, that was adorned with pale pink flowers.

Talia bowed low to the crowd, much like her brother Lyn, and she gracefully climbed up to the top of the carriage. She was meet by Titus, who gave her a warm smile and a 'good luck', on the roof.

Talia smiled to the audience as she reach down to the floor she stood on. She picked up a length of satin cloth and she went to the tall pole.

With a small bit of help from Titus, she fixed the cloth to her back. With that in place, Talia began to gracefully climb the pole.

The crowd was transfixed by the beauty of Talia's climb. She spun in the air around the pole, making a lovely air about the town square.

When she reached the top, Talia stood at the very top of the pole, twenty feet in the air, balanced. She made a carefully curtesy to the crowd, then Talia walked onto the rope.

The crowd was hushed as they looked up at the young girl walking the tightrope. Talia went about a yard before she leaned forward and did a cartwheel on the rope. She never even faltered in her maneuver, which she followed up by flipping off the rope twice and landing back on it perfectly.

About fifteen minutes of cartwheels and flips later, the rose of the Western Traveling Caravan was on the bakery roof.

The crowd cheered wildly as Talia climbed down from the roof and in turn cartwheeled off in a different direction than Remo and her brother.

Once again, some of the crowd followed her through London, but most stayed behind.

Titus was certainly ready to dazzle now, "For those who are still unconvinced of our gifts," he laughed, "I present to you the more exotic and daring rose of our garden, the wild Lysandra!"

At this, a raven haired girl walked out of the carriage side, holding a dagger in one hand, and a length of cloth in the other. As for her clothing, the proper women almost screamed in outrage at her black short shorts and her showy, blue, corset-like top. A leather strap holding a scabbard for her dagger was fastened to her bare leg, as well as several other dagger were in her belt loops. For Lysandra, the crown emblem was on her single, long blue, fingerless glove on her right hand.

"Ladies and gentlemen," smiled Titus, "For our dear Ly's performance, we require the assistance of a brave soul from the audience!"

The whole of the crowd pale a little at what a girl with so many sharp knives could do to them. But, the man in the black suit appeared out of almost nowhere. He stood behind a tall young business man, "Miss Lysandra, will this young gentleman do?" asked Henley to his master's friend.

Lysandra considered the man for a moment, then nodded.

Henley forced the horrified man forward to the carriage. Lysandra kicked the wall of the carriage and a white tarp fell down from the top and was held in front of the carriage. The business man yelped; a target was clear on the tarp.

Henley made the man stand in front of the target. The butler whispered in his ear, and then man smiled. He did not move through the rest of the performance. Henley quickly went back inside the carriage.

"Everyone," addressed Titus, "I implore you, do not try this at home! Ly is a trained professional!"

Lysandra laughed loudly, "Professional! Ha!"

"Shut up!" hissed Titus.

The girl rolled her eyes and picked up a dagger.

The audience was hushed as she raised her blade to her lips.

"You are witnessing a magic greater than even that of our great magician Lyn!" whispered Titus, loudly, "This is the magic of the Kiss of Fate. Any man or object that touch's her lips are blessed with good fortune for years to come!"

Lysandra ended her kiss and aimed the blade at the target. Everyone flinched as the dagger embedded itself an inch away from the man's head.

Several other kissed daggers were thrown, each missing the man by mere inches. By the time Lysandra was out of daggers, the crowd was so entranced by her fluid throws, they were sad when she was done.

Ly bowed to the audience, then took her assistant's hand. She pulled the man away from the target and kissed him full on the lips, to the cat calls of the men in the crowd.

Lysandra ran off into London, quickly followed by a large amount of men, including the business man, who wanted a 'Kiss of Fate'.

Titus laughed as the knife-thrower and her love-struck victims disappeared into downtown London. Most of the remaining crowd was women and children, "Well, ladies," sighed the white boy, leaning against Talia's pole, "It seems our show is almost to an end," he looked up at the sky, which was quickly becoming a beautiful sunset, "But, I believe we have just enough time for one more."

The ladies and children cheered, "I give you our most impressive performance of the day," said Titus, jumping off the carriage and walking off to his own part of London, "I present, The Lord of the Western Traveling Caravan, Johnny Traveler."

As Titus disappeared, the carriage doors opened for the last time. Out steeped a tall boy with dirty blonde hair, one electric blue eye and another covered by bandages. The Lord of the Western Traveling Caravan wore a darker shade of orange on his strange tunic. The tunic had one long, orange sleeve and bottom, but then it was cut off to a back under shirt that showed his stomach. His crown was right on the edge of his shirt, right before it cut off. The caravan's leader was the only one of all seven (including Henley) to wear any form of jewelry, which was his black onyx ring.

But the main difference between the caravan and their lord was that Johnny Traveler did not throw a dagger or climb heights. The Lord of the Greatest Performers walked out in front of all the women and children of London with nothing but his two hands and a violin.

**__Genus Mali__**

Johnny smiled to the crowds and knocked on the carriage door.

Henley briefly stuck his hand out and gave his master a stool. Johnny took the stool and sat down on it and motioned for the women and children to come closer, "Don't worry, I don't spit fire," he said in all seriousness. The crowd drew closer, children going the front and sitting in the dirt in front of the boy, soon followed by their mothers.

Johnny lifted his bow and smiled to the women, "I've told been it's a little unconventional, but most say I play quite well, just ahead of my time," he said calmly, "Let's see what you think, eh?"

The boy looked away from the crowd, and focused on his instrument as the sun began to set. He quickly thrust his bow across the strings, starting off his song quickly with a jolt.

The crowd was stopped for brief second as the boy began. As his hand danced against the violin, more than just the individual instrument was heard. Even though only Honny played, they could hear the intermingling sounds of an orchestra following it. Johnny was making a symphony with one violin.  
It was true art not worthy of being bestowed on such a lowly performer, but no one argued, only listened to the wonderful music.

Johnny's song went on for several hours, a true symphony, leading far into the night. By the time he was done, the men had stopped chase Lysandra and had returned to there wives. Now, most of the village gathered to watch.

As Johnny finished, the crowd erupted in applause, "Thank you, all!" cried out Johnny, "I am sad to say that our day with you all is done," the crowd sighed in despair at this, "But know that we will return, soon!"

As the crowd gave a final cheer, the rest of the Western Traveling Caravan came out from a side street, riding on Spot and Dot. Titus had an empty potato sack, which he threw to the ground. The crowds quickly threw coins into it, and Remo snatched it back up.

As the horses were reattached to the carriage, Lyn jumped on the roof, followed by Johnny and Titus.

Remo soon edged the horses on, out of London. Lyn threw out some of his exploding powder, which, with two snaps, bursts into flames for one last act.

Titus waved with a flashy small at the crowd disappearing off the horizon, "Remember us always!" he called.

"The Western Traveling Caravan," said Johnny, "Will remember you!"

**__Genus Mali__**_

He smiled a dastardly grin when the crowds were out of sight, "How much did we make?" asked the Lord of the Caravan, as he, Titus, and Lyn leaped down into the open carriage door.

In the main part of the carriage, Henley had converted what was the old Chinese traders pigsty into his young master's quarters/office as well as a meeting place for the Caravan. Being it was a large carriage, they had a bit of furniture in it. Henley had put the trader's old desk against the front wall, right under the window to the driver's seat. A small hammock opposite of it made a fine bed, and a few chests and draws lined the wall.

On the floor was the rest of the Western Traveling Caravan, all around Titus' potato sack, "Well," answered Talia, looking through the bag, "At a brief estimate, I'd wager about twenty crowns max."

"What a killing!" laughed Lysandra, "That'll feed us for months!"

"No," said Johnny, laying his violin on the dresser, "I meant how much did we _really_ make?"

There was silence for minute, then everyone laughed, "Right," chuckled Lyn, digging in his shirt sleeve, "I managed to nick a bag of gold from the bankers stand and I even nabbed his knife." The magician brought out from his a leather poach and a silver dagger with a ruby crusted hilt.

"Well," said Johnny examining the dagger and the bag, "He'll miss that. Five crowns in the bag, and I'd say the dagger worth near half that." Johnny took two crowns out of the pouch and threw it back to Lyn, "Use that to buy more of your powder. I don't like you using it, but it does make a killing in shows."

Over the course of the years, it was discover why Lyn had two different colored eyes. His mother had been a green-eyed English witch that bewitched a nobleman to love her. The witch had Lyn two years later, but soon the nobleman broke from his trance and left. The witch taught her son magic for two years till he was four, then traded him to the Chinese merchant from potion ingredients. Lyn meet Talia in his father's village while the merchant was trading. The nobleman recognized his son and went berserk, trying to kill him. Talia intervened by calling for help, but Lyn lost an eye before he could stop. Following the ways of his evil mother, he cut out his father's gray eye, used a simple spell replace his own with it, then took his new found sister away with him, though they were soon caught by the merchant.

Lyn hid his power by only using simple spells that could have logical explanations. His favorite was throwing black powder in the air, and using magic to form sparks by it, causing an explosion. Johnny didn't approve of him using magic in public, but as he said 'it made a killing in shows.'

The magician slipped the pouch in his yellow sleeve, grinning, "Am I the only successful one today?" he asked.

Talia smacked her brother on the head, "No way!" she said as she pulled off a gold chain from her neck, "I swiped this from that fat, old lady at the pub."

Henley took the chain and looked at it closely, "At fair price, maybe a few shillings. But if we have Titus take it to market, given he performs as well as he did today, we can probably get two crowns off it."

As the caravan grew up, it came to there attention that little Titus had a way with words. He could probably talk his way out of the death sentence if he needed to. When the caravan went from honest trading to full out swindlers, Titus became their announcer and seller. He would take a broken pair of knives and come back with thirty shillings. 'Little' Titus had grown into one sly little devil.  
"Eh," shrugged said boy, "I could try. Plus I smooth talk a few ladies out of their purses." He reached behind his head and took two silk purses out from his hood, "I already counted. Five shilling in one, eight in the other."

Johnny patted their youngest on the back then turned to Lysandra, "What about you, Ly?"

The knife-thrower scoffed, "You think a ran around London from all those men for nothing?" Lysandra pulled two heavy pouches of coins from her pants pockets, "Three crowns each."

"And the Kiss of Fate has spoken," mumbled Johnny, looking into one of the pouches. He threw one back to the knife-thrower, "Buy some more knives, you lost some back there."

When they began learning there trades, Lysandra never thought knives would be her act. But the minute Henley handed her a dagger, she knew it was right. With the butler's assistance, Lysandra grew into the Robin Hood of knives.

Lysandra tied the pouch other belt and called out window, "What about you Remo?"

Said strong man chuckled, "It's in the back. I slipped into the merchant district since we needed some things. I couldn't get much food, but I found fabric to fix Tally's dress and a little powder for Lyn."

Henley did some quick math, "Well, young master," he said to Johnny, "That makes our trip to London worth thirty one crowns and thirteen shilling."

"Good job, guys," praised Johnny. He then had Remo stop the wagon and sent his caravan out to set up camp.

With the group gone, Johnny sat down at his desk and began to log their income.

"I can do that, young master," said the butler, "You have other things to do."

"No, Henley," scoffed at Henley, "I will do it."

Henley sighed at his master, but made no other comment.

Johnny took a half an hour to finish his log before he stood. The teen stretched and looked out at his caravan.

The group set up a small bonfire to light up the night and laid there blankets around the fire. Titus told exciting stories that he made up as he went along. Remo had tied the horses to a nearby tree and he leaned back, listening to Titus. Lysandra took a whetstone from her pocket and sharpened her knife, deep in thought. Lyn had Talia on his lap as the younger sister dozed.

"Your all growing up, young master," said Henley, walking up behind Johnny, "It has been a long time since you donned the name 'Traveler' and formed this ragtag group of misfits into a top notch band of performers and thieves."

Johnny looked at his butler, "Yes I guess, so, though it only feels like yesterday was when..." He felt the onyx ring on his finger, "You know, you never did tell me where you got this from."

Henley hesitated, though he knew his master would ask eventually, "Well," he smoothly lied, "I took it from your brother the night I left him. I felt it appropriate that the one to kill him should have his ring, so it will be the last thing he ever sees."

Johnny was shocked for a second, then looked at the ring, "No matter who had it before..." Johnny ran a finger over the stone, "I still like it."

Henley smiled, "That is good, young master." The butler walked to the chest of drawers and pulled something out, "By the way, I had something to ask of you."

"And what would that be?" Johnny raised an eyebrow as he put his violin in it's case.

The butler smiled, "I have come to realize that you carry no form of self-defense on your person. This makes you quite weak, young master."

The Lord of the Caravan was shocked, "I have my reasons, Henley. I am not fond at holding swords or knives. Nor am I vastly good with bows. I believe our... training has been efficient in protecting me."

That was true. Henley had been fulfilling his master's original order by teaching him the ways of the demon. Though Johnny Traveler was far from a demon, his anger made a perfect inward power supply that made him much stronger. But as for his not carrying a weapon, Henley did not agree,

"Young master," the butler sighed, "I am well aware of your inept use of normal weaponry. But I believe I have a solution."

Johnny raised an eyebrow once more, "Really?"

Henley nodded and held up what would soon be one of the most iconic idem in Johnny's life.

"What the hell am I supposed to do with a bracer?"

Henley sighed and released the knife from it's holder, "Sometimes, a hidden, small weapon is better than a massive sword. As you know well, the smallest can easily rise to the top."

Johnny glared and took a different form of attack, "That is the weirdest knife I have ever seen. Look at the holes in it."

The knife in Henley's hand was not a normal dagger in the least. The hilt was black and wrapped in rich dark leather, but in the middle of the grip there was four holes and a thick looped ring was strapped to the end firmly. The blade itself was made of what looked like obsidian and was curved inward. In all, the blade could easily fit in the palm of one's hand.

"This," said the butler, "Is a tactical knife. It is a bit of knowledge that I should not share with mortals, but I choose to. It is easy to hold because of the grip, and easy to hide."

"I'm not wearing that dumb bracer," snarled Johnny, turning away.

Henley simply slipped the knife in the slot, undid the bindings and clasps, then quickly grabbed Johnny by the waist.

"Hey!" cried Johnny, "Let me down, you big ox!"

Henley smirked as he grabbed his master's left arm, "I apologize, but this is for your own good." He tied the bracer on, then clasped it tight, before letting go, "I will train you with the knife tomorrow, but I suggest wearing that constantly."

Johnny rubbed his sore arm under the bracer, then sat on his hammock, still in his clothes, and went to sleep quite angry.

**_ _Genus Mali_ _**

**_Review! Poll! World Peace!_**


	11. His Butler, Growing Up

**I have decided to start answering reviews, as I sincerely love my reviewers:**

**From:BeautifulSnowBEAST**

**So sad poor Sebastian/Johnny :( Anyway good story so far I really like it ! (It reminds of Sasuke and Itachi from naruto when they had a good relationship until suddenly itatchi murders the whole uchiha clan just like Matt :(**

**DS: I thought that too. After I wrote it, I kinda just looked at... And looked at it... and looked at it... Then I realized I made an Itachi moment. Either way, I hope Matt and Itachi are equally cool.**

**As always, don't forget the poll if you want to know what happens in the end!**

**So far the standings are Henley with three (i feel like I made an epic butler) and Matt with one. The rest of Walkers have zero (expected that really) and the Caravan kids are the same (poor orphaned kids...)**

**Reviews are love!**

**__Genus Mali__**

When Johnny woke up, he could hear the chirping birds outside, and sunlight streamed through the windows.

Usually he was a late sleeper, but he smelt Henley's cooking. Bacon to be exact. Mmm bacon... Perfect wake up call.

The boy took all the restraint in his body not to run out the door and devour the dead, sliced pig, not because he had pride to maintain (there really was nothing to hide from his caravan other than what really happened to his eye), but frankly, even Johnny had work to do in the morning.

As always, the Lord of the Western Traveling Caravan swung himself out of bed. It was then, though, that he realized someone changed him out of his orange and black fiddler's garb and into a nightshirt.

Johnny sighed as he went to his dresser. Though to his caravan and those who knew them, he was a 'Lord', Johnny Traveler was not fond of being treated like one. He refused to have his butler do everything for him, much preferring to clothe himself and wash himself. Frankly, he found that if he could even do that, what kind of leader would he be?

He quickly put on an old peasant's shirt and a pair of dirty shorts. Slipping the shirt on bacame just a little bit harder when Johnny forgot about his new 'protection' that was still strapped tight to his arm. Johnny didn't bother with his boots, but instead went to his desk bare foot.

Johnny sat down and pulled his records to him. During his times as his family's servant, Matt only had the time to teach him a little bit of the the alphabet, but Johnny couldn't even spell his own name. When Henley learned of his master's illiteracy, the butler went into tutor mode, not relenting till Johnny had mastered spelling and grammar as well as comprehension. The original owner of the carriage had left several empty books in it, so those were used to keep track of the afore mentioned records.

The young man opened the record books. As Johnny learned how to keep such records, his process grew more advanced. The records went from just numbers and ideas, to places, times, and such. Each member had a profile in the record with their personal descriptions and there income and outcomes.

Johnny looked over the individual profiles adding in incomes and outcomes as he went; Lyn's powder, Talia needed new rope, Titus' shirt had to be replaced, the horses' feed, Lysandra's knives, etc.

He sighed, he'd be doing this all morning, but it had to be done. Johnny took a quill to the page and started writing. Ten off for repairs... thirty for food... add in last night's income...

Johnny sighed again. He really hated keeping records, but he refused to sit around and play the fiddle all day. What use would that have?

The young man continued his work quietly, listening to his companions outside eating breakfast.

After a few minutes, Johnny heard the door open, "Young master?" asked Henley.

"Yes?" responded Johnny, not looking up from his paper to his butler, "Is there something wrong?"

Henley smiled and placed a plate of food next to his master's book, "Nothing is wrong, young master. I simply felt the need to bring you a plate of food before your 'friends' eat it all," the butler shook his head, "That strong man would eat the horses if we let him, honestly."

Johnny smirked to himself, head still bent towards his books, "Yes, indeed," he said, chuckling, "It does seem our food expenses have gone up quite a lot recently."

The demon looked at his young master for a brief second.

All of them had grown so much in the past years. It had been almost seven years since Johnny had taken the name 'Traveler' and the Walkers were no more. Now, the nine-year-old, scared little boy was now sixteen year old forced to be a man. He had changed so much, but didn't notice. Still, nothing slipped past Henley Kitts.

Johnny had grown taller, stronger, and smarter. He went from a 3" 6" shrimp to a 6-foot powerhouse. He could do the work of three grown men, and probably better too. The young lord's intellect was extraordinary, rivaling even the butler's at some points. The training from Henley was proving effective, indeed. It even seemed as if a bit of demon-like power enhanced his ability to play violin. He was truly extraordinary.

Henley sighed and grabbed his master's book from him.

"Hey!" argued Johnny, jumping up, "What do you think your doing Henley?"

The butler put the book under his arm and put the plate in his master's hands, "Your job is to guide your followers, and by default, eat with them," the butler pushed a bewildered sixteen-year-old out the door, "Go, I will do this."

Before Johnny could argue, Henley closed the door with a smirk.

**__Genus Mali_ _**

Everyone in the white room was laughing. Even Sebastian chucked a bit.

"Oh my god," laughed Ciel, "Look at your face!"

The butler rolled his eyes, "Yes, it did tend to look like that a bit."

The young earl was too busy laughing to reprimand him. It was just too funny to see Henley acting like that to his master. Plus the look on Johnny's face was priceless.

After the laughter died down, everyone just watched the screen again.

"So is that where you learned what you taught the young master?" asked Finny, innocently, "From what Henley taught you?"

Bard smacked the gardener upside the head and shook his head, but Sebastian just looked down at his hands and smiled, "I guess you could say that," he said, sadly, "Henley Kitts was... a great man," he fingered the bracer on his his wrist, "A little unorthodox at times, but..."

"One hell of a butler?" questioned Ciel

Sebastian laughed, "Yeah, one hell of a butler, indeed."

_**_Genus Mali_**_

The caravan snickered as their leader was pushed out of his quarters with a plate of food.

"Kicked out, eh, Johnny?" chuckled Titus, as he sat on a fallen log.

Said boy sat mumbling on the log before digging into his food, "Shut up," he said, with a full mouth.

Henley really was a good cook for what limited supplies they had to use. Today's breakfast was the devious bacon Johnny smelled early, paired with poached eggs and biscuits with gravy. Where and how the butler got everything to make all that, no one knew, but frankly, who really cared?

The Lord of the Caravan ate his food slowly, savoring every blissful moment of his butler's cooking.

"So what do we have to do today?" asked Remo, laying upside down off the driver's seat of the carriage.

"Well," said Johnny, thinking about it as he chewed some bacon, "We don't have any stops to make today, as we're too far from anywhere but London, so I guess we just sit back."

"Sit back?" said Lyn, shocked, "You want to sit back? Mister 'Workaholic' wants to take a break?"

Everyone laughed, "It's not like we have a choice," chuckled Johnny, "but you better enjoy this cause it's not happening again."

Talia pouted, "You work us too hard."

"I don't know," thought Lyn, putting a hand on his chin, "I think you still have some baby fat on you, little sister," he flicked his wrist and some sparks flew, "Should I just zap it off?"

They laughed as Tally shrieked and she ran from her brother around the camp a few times before their antics were forgotten.

Remo jumped down from his perch, "Sadly," he said, "So of us actually have work to do. I gotta go feed the horses."

"Need help?" questioned Titus, perking up at the thought of doing something.

"Sure," laughed the strong man, "I could use a 'little' help."

The two went off to feed Spot and Dot, squabbling about the L-word and such.

Lyn laughed at them, "Jesus," he said, "You would never look at those two and imagine them to be friends. Their exact opposites!"

Johnny drifted into space, "Opposites attract."

"Speaking of attracting, where's Ly?"

"She said something 'bout taking a bath- Wait what do you mean 'attract', huh?" questioned the one-eyed boy."

Lyn smirked, "You tell me."

"I-I don't like her," stammered Johnny, "I-I mean I-I like her, but not like that, uh, you know I, uh..."

"I never said you did!" laughed the magician, "But I think you just confirmed it, eh?"

Johnny sighed, "Man, you really are a jerk sometimes, you know that right?"

Lyn smirked, "Hey, I'm your best friend, your second, your brother from another mother! It just so happens to be my job to weasel this stuff out of you."

That much was true. Even if Johnny was in charge of the caravan, Lyn was the oldest at nineteen and the magician had silently filled the shoes of older brother for the once distraught young boy. With the loyal lion at his side and his black-suited butler, Johnny Traveler was a force to be reckoned with.

But now Johnny just sat on the log, silent.

Lyn sighed, "Come on, your tall, your handsome as hell, your talented, your kind. What woman wouldn't want you?"

"This is Lysandra we're talking about," said the young lord peaking up, "She not exactly predictable."

Lyn shrugged and chuckled, "I'll give you that, but if you never try, then how will you ever know for certain?"

The young lord thought it over then stood, "You know, your right, Lyn," he said, proudly, "I have nothing to be afraid of. I'm going to go right up to Ly and tell her the truth, right now!" He began to walk towards the woods, but then looked back.

"Say, do you happen to have love potion up your sleeve perchance?"

"No, sorry."

"Damn..."

**__Genus Mali_ _**

**_Review! Poll! Rainicorns! _**


	12. His Butler, In Love

_**Hi there, quick warning, I hate romance, so this probably sucks. I have never had any luck with romantic stories, so I plan on just quickly establishing this and moving on. For me, in stories that aren't just romance, it's just embellishments to make the story more realistic. I totally agree with that, but I am terrible at it.**_

_**x deep breathe x Okay, rant over.**_

_**Now for reviews. I'm italics, reviewer is underlined.**_

_**From BeautifulSnowBEAST;**_

**Yay u updated! I'm always happy to read a new kuroshitsuji story! U r one of the best ones I've liked so far, your writing is good too so keep it up :) **

_**OMJ then I read that, I couldn't stop smiling. Made my day AND annoyed my Pre-Algebra teacher (I seriously got yelled at for smiling) Win, Win!**_

**Btw and Matt are both equally sweet and cool ;)**

_**I feel like a winner. First Matt's compared to Itachi, now he's on the same level! This is epic!**_

_**From Kiyoko Hikari (BTW luv the name)**_

**good story really like it. lot of spelling errors but nothing i couldn't read through. I do suggest getting a beta reader. any who I do look forward to your next chapter.**

_**I'm really glad to hear you like it! And if you read my pervious A/N (pretty sure no one does), you'd no I had one. But she only did one chapter that was one of my shortest, took three days on it, changed one sentence, then sent it back. As for spelling, auto-correct dis at blame :p**_

_**Thank you, everyone who reviewed. **_

_**Finally, recent poll stats. Henley is still in the lead with 3 (go Henley), and Matt & Lysandra are tied in second. **_

_**But it's still anyone's game, as long as they get YOUR votes. That's right, I'm looking at YOU.**_

_**Disclaimer: I don't own Kuroshitsuji**_

_**_Genus Mali_**_

Johnny stumbled through the woods, honestly planning to kill Lyn when he got back. How did that moron talk him into this? It was pointless, what was there to gain other than ridicule? There was no way on earth that Lysandra would feel the same. It was pointless.

He tripped over a branch. Johnny pulled himself up and just walked on, not bothering to pull the twigs and filth out of his hair. The young lord of the caravan simply muttered a few curses and searched for the knife-thrower, thinking up forms of death for his bothersome second.

Johnny pushed away branches and jumped over logs, all for a quest he wasn't sure of.

The only reason he didn't turn back was his own thoughts. Lysandra was different. She didn't give in, nor did she really care what anyone thought of her. Johnny could remember when they had first donned their costumes. Ly had called him a pumpkin, Remo a big red tomato, Titus a clam, Lyn was just moron, but Tally was a darling. Lysandra was the only one of them not at all traditional in her clothes, with her apparel unbefitting of a young lady and her personality not exactly personable. Still, Johnny had never meet anyone like her. She was brave, smart, and took no excuses. It felt wonderful to have some one in his life who actually refused his hair brain schemes. Frankly, it was like having a knife-wielding conscious.

That was why the young Lord of the Caravan was stumbling though the woods, looking for Lysandra.

It took him about two more hours before he heard a noise other than squirrels and rabbits; a splash.

The teen quietly eased him self past a last tree to find himself on top of a cliff. Below him was a deep lake with a waterfall on the other side. When he examined it closer, he saw Lysandra in a state he never thought he would ever see her.

Johnny Traveler stood silently as Lysandra shook out her raven hair and wiped water from her eyes with a large rag.

The knife thrower dried off her body with the rag, then she slipped an old worn dress over herself. Ly was wrapping her hair up in the rag when she saw Johnny.

"Johnny?!" she shrieked, "Why in the name of God are you spying on me, you perverted ass?"

Johnny put up his hands in defense as he jumped down from the cliff and walked over to her, "I'm not spying on you!" he cried.

"No," she snorted, "Your just passing by the pool were I just happen to be bathing?"

"Yes... No... Kinda... Just listen!" the young lord finally got out, "I need to talk to you about something very important, Lysandra."

The knife thrower put a hand on her hip, "Really now," she asked, "And what would that be?"

Suddenly, Johnny was very nervous. His palms were sweaty and his body was shaking. All he did for a while was stutter in the girls face.

"Um... Johnny?" asked Lysandra, "Are you okay?"

"I-I-I uh... um..." Johnny stuttered, "I just..."

"Maybe you should sit down," stated a now worried Ly, grabbing Johnny's arm and going to bring him down to the ground.

"No!" he pulled away, gaining a bit of courage as he sensed his last chance, "If I don't say this, I never will, but for me to say it, I just need to do one first."

"And what would that be?" Lysandra asked.

"This," Johnny put an arm around her neck and a hand on the back of her head, then pulled her into a kiss.

Ly was shocked for a second, then she hesitantly realized why Johnny had been seeking her out, as he was never that bold as to steal a kiss. She pulled out for second then looked into Johnny's eyes, "Why?"

Johnny looked down, shamefully, "Can't help where the heart wants to be, eh?"

"No," the knife thrower smiled, "Why not sooner."

Shock came and went quickly from the young lord before he kissed her again, this time deeper. After a minute or two, Johnny could help it anymore, and he pulled away, cartwheeling back and laughing, "Yes!"

Lysandra laughed, but then her eyes widened, "Uh Johnny," she said, "You may want to-"

She was cut with a splash as Johnny cartwheeled right into the water.

_**_Genus Mali_**_

At this point, the group wasn't really too surprised by shows of emotion from Johnny, but they couldn't help but smile at his latest antics.

The look on the young lord's face was something only a teenager could have. Johnny was desperately clinging to a proud, brave face, but his eyes were scared and nervous, like lost puppy in cat shelter. It was the face of a boy in love.

Bart was the first to laugh, "Man," he chuckled at the butler's expense, "I never thought I'd see the cool, calm, proper butler that everyone seems to fall in love with, head over heels for an improper, peasant girl like that."

"What does she have that I don't?" argued Grell, "I am just as beautiful as that girl! And blue is such an ugly color, too!" Sebastian raised an electric bluish-red eye at the scarlet reaper, "But it looks great on you, Sebas-chan," corrected Grell, "Just not on truly stylish women like myself."

"I think she's pretty," commented Finny.

The butler sighed and leaned his chin on his hand, staring into space, "Yeah... Pretty..."

Ciel examined the change in his butler. It was foreign for him to look so normal, but then again, Sebastian was mostly human now. Still, the thought of the butler actually being in love at one point, puppy love or not, was too bizarre to even compute. It was even a little bit scary.

The earl could easily see what everyone else had trouble comprehending. Though such a wild woman would never be considered near Sebastian's standards, it was easy to see Johnny Traveler falling quickly for Lysandra. As her name implied, she was a free spirit, she would never be forced to do a thing. Most 'proper' women of her time and the present time were simply told who to love and how to love them. Someone like Lysandra would only love someone for who they were, not for anything they had or someone else's say on them. She would always give 100% in her love, regardless of who it was, someone Johnny Traveler never had much in his life time. That and Lysandra really was beautiful. Her hair, her eyes, her everything; she was just truly a beautiful girl.

Sebastian was watching the screen intently, eyes only for Lysandra. He had a subtle smile on his face, like just looking at her brought great happiness to him. But at the same time, his eyes held a deep sadness.

"Sebastian?" questioned Ciel, "What is it?"

The butler snapped out of his trance and looked at the earl, "Nothing, young master," he said, "Just thinking, is all."  
Ciel scoffed, "Well if you choose to speak instead of all this constant thinking, please don't speak like a common peasant in front of your master."

"Sur- Yes, my lord," sighed the butler, bowing his head, "I'll- I will do my best."

The earl watched Sebastian for a little bit, regretting his prior comment a bit. He could see the transition was hard for Sebastian. He was trying hard not to revert to his old self; mainly his improper speech. Johnny Traveler was never a formal, sophisticated young man to say the least, at worst he had the personality of an uneducated peasent, regardless over his obviously high intellect. So, as Sebastian's human nature was returning, so was his previous normal speech patterns. Sebastian couldn't help it if his past self didn't exactly fit the mold of 'butler'.

More than his speech, all of his famous butler ethics were slipping. He slouched, his hair was messy, his jack had been been shed and long forgotten, and his collar had been loosened. Sebastian looked tired no matter what express he had, and every time he did something informal and out of character, he obvious beat himself up inside a bit. It was a depressing sight indeed.

"Forget it," said Ciel, leaning back, "There's no point forcing yourself to not do something if everyone present knows about it. But when we get out, at least try, got it?"

Sebastian nodded, and silently bowed his head. The room had been silent during their conversation and they all watched the butler. He didn't say another word for some time.

_**_Genus Mali_**_

Later that night, Johnny and Lysandra returned to the carriage. When they came out of the trees, Remo wolf-whistled at them, "I ain't taking care of any kids, the horses are enough!"

Ly had replaced her loose dress with her shorts and shirt, along with her knife. One blade quickly whizzed by the strong man's ear, silencing him, "You are such a moron," she said, chuckling.

Johnny faced Lyn. The magician looked him up and down, "Why are you wet?" he asked.

"I fell in a lake," Johnny growled, "All because of you."

Lyn rolled his eyes, "You can thank me later, buddy."

The Lord of the Caravan's eye twitched for second before he let it go. Henley sauntered out of the carriage holding a large bag.  
Johnny looked up at him, "What's that?"

"Dinner," smirked the butler, fiendishly, "I was waiting for you to arrive before I began cooking."

"Why would you wait for us?" asked Lysandra.

Henley chuckled, "Well this is a cause for celebration! I felt my young master might even be kind enough to play one of his more unorthodox selections to accompany our feast."

Everyone looked expectantly at Johnny who blushed slightly, "Uh... I guess... Let me get get my stuff first."

He quickly leaped into the carriage and picked up his violin, tuning it before he went.

Because of Henley's training in demon powers, Johnny was able to advance quite well in his playing. When he had finished all violin songs his butler knew, Johnny wanted something harder. The butler simply nodded with a smirk and asked if he's like try something a bit ahead of it's time. With practice, Johnny's violin became a fiddle, playing fast like lightning, but with his special abilities, he could play for a whole band, even if there was not fiddle in the song to begin with. All the young lord needed was a tune and the time, and he'd play you one hell of a song.

As the music was far from normal in the era, Johnny never played music like it during performances, but the caravan loved it. They knew that Henley wasn't exactly human, not that they knew he was a demon, but they figured long ago that he and his master weren't normal and they were okay with it. When Johnny played and an invisible band played along to strange music, they'd sing along. It was their form of fun.

When Johnny stepped out of the carriage, Henley had a fat turkey on the fire, a pot of what looked like stew boiling, some vegetables slow cooking in sauce, and the butler sat peeling potatoes.

"You got all this out by the time I got my fiddle?" Johnny chuckled, "Fast even for you, eh, Henley?"

The butler smirked and turned the turkey, "You see, I'm simply one hell of chef."

Johnny shook his head smirking and sat down, "So any requests?"

Everyone thought, "Hm..." stated Remo, "What's a good song?"

They thought a bit, and by the time Henley was done with dinner, they still didn't know.

The butler served each of them a large portion of food before he took a seat beside his young master, "For dinner, we have a hearty portion of roast turkey with a side of honey-glazed vegetables, a rich lamb stew, and a lightly salted baked potato. I took the liberty of making a light herbal tea, though I know that most of you don't enjoy it, so I also have fresh water."

They all ate and thought about their dilemma separately by themselves.

Johnny took a bite of the turkey. Delicious as always, he thought, How Henley has a deferent meal for everyday continues to amaze me. He stopped, that was it! He knew exactly what to do.

"Henley," he said, "Why don't I play that new one you were teaching me? That really creepy one?"

The butler stopped, "You don't know the lyrics yet."

"You do," smirked Johnny picking up his instrument, "I'll just play, and you sing."

"Really?" Henley raised an eyebrow, "You honestly don't now the power of this song."

"What song?" questioned Titus, eager growing at the words 'creepy', 'power', and 'singing Henley'.

Henley sighed, "I began teaching an older legend to the young master a few days ago, but I have yet to tell him the lyrics. The first time I learned, even I had trouble computing it."

"We can take a scary story, Henley!" argued Remo, "Witchs and monsters don't scare us! We put up with Lyn and he took out his father's eye."

"Yeah..." said Lyn, "Hey wait minute!"

The butler sighed, "Very well, I guess I have no choose but to tell you all the story..."

_**_Genus Mali_ **_

_**Review! Poll! Marshmallows!**_


	13. His Butler, Comforted

_**I must say, I enjoyed writing this. Maybe cause it's a Songchapter, maybe cause it has three heaping doses of fluff. who knows? Anyway, on with reviews:**_

_**Arisa:**_

**Whats the story?**

_**You'll see... ;)**_

_**Kiyoko Hikari:**_

**I didn't realize you already tried using a beta reader. well either way another good chapter. oh and thanks for the compliment on my name. _**

_**It's fine, I really should beta this, but I'm not very good at picking betas. Thx for the compliment, too!**_

_**Poll Status:**_

_**Henley Kitts: 3**_

_**Matt Walker: 1**_

_**Lysandra: 1**_

_**Note: You can pick TWO chooses in the poll. I really need good results on the poll, as it effects the rest of the story. So go vote on my profile!**_

_**Disclaimer: I don't own Kuroshitsuji or The Legend of the Wooley Swamp**_

_**_Genus Mali_ **_

"If you insist, young master," Henley said to Johnny, "I will have no choose but to tell you all the Legend of the Wooley Swamp."

Johnny smiled and put his plate off of his lap, then pulled up his bow to begin.

Henley sighed once more and nodded to his master to begin. Johnny started, and the sound of a full band played on with him, the sound of the fiddle drowned out.

The butler let his young master start the loud music and find the beat. As always, the caravan listened intently to Johnny's captivating song.

Then Henley looked up at them, almost amused, and he began his song;

_Well, if you ever go back into Wooley Swamp  
Well, you better not go at night!_

They all rolled their eyes. All stories start like that, they thought, this is just sad.

_There's things out there in the middle of them woods  
That make a strong man die from fright_

"Watch out, Remo," whispered Talia into the strongman's ear. He play punched her and they giggled.

_Things that crawl and things that fly  
And things that creep around on the ground  
And they say the ghost of Lucius Clay  
Gets up and he walks around!_

Johnny hesitated in his playing, but not enough to break the song. He was never too fond of ghost stories, in fact, they really scared him a bit. It probably had something to do with being raised most by a demon, but who knew?

_But I couldn't believe it  
I just had to find out for myself  
And I couldn't conceive it  
'Cause I never would have listened to nobody else  
And I couldn't believe it  
I just had to find out for myself  
There's some things in this world  
You just can't explain_

The caravan lost their happy mood quickly, as the creepy tone of the butler's voice edged in.

Henley, on the other hand, seemed to be enjoying scaring the hell out of his master and his friends. The butler leaned forward, using his hand to emphasize his words.

_The old man lived in the Wooley Swamp  
Way back in Booger Woods  
He never did do a lot of harm in the world  
But he never did do no good  
People didn't think too much of him  
They all thought he acted funny  
The old man didn't care about people anyway  
All he cared about was his money_

The caravan moved back a little. The old man sounded a bit like the old trader who held them captive when they were young.

Lyn slipped an arm around his sister and pulled her in close. Titus was the first to actually respond in a way, pulling his knees to his chest and warping his arms around him. Remo moved to sit beside him, and the strongman put both arms around him. Lysandra just shifted uncomfortably.

_He'd stuff it all down in mason jars  
And he'd bury it all around  
And on certain nights if the moon was right  
He'd dig it up out of the ground  
He'd pour it all out on the floor of his shack  
And run his fingers through it  
Yeah, Lucius Clay was a greedy old man  
And that's all that there was to it_

_But I couldn't believe it!  
I just had to find out for myself.  
And I couldn't conceive it  
'Cause I never would have listened to nobody else.  
And I couldn't believe it!  
I just had to find out for myself  
There's somethings in this world you just  
can't explain._

The butler took a deep breath, then went on.

_The Cable boys was white trash  
They lived over on Carver's Creek.  
They were mean as a snake  
And sneaky as a cat  
And belligerent when they'd speak.  
One night the oldest brother said,  
"Y'all meet me at the Wooley Swamp later  
We'll take old Lucius's money  
and we'll feed him to the alligators."_

_But I couldn't believe it!  
I just had to find out for myself.  
And I couldn't conceive it  
'Cause I never would have listened to nobody else.  
And I couldn't believe it!  
I just had to find out for myself  
There's somethings in this world you just  
can't explain._

Titus and Talia shivered at Henley's tone, but everyone else watched the butler. He wouldn't actually describe that would he? Johnny wouldn't put it past his butler, but the young man went on never the less in his playing and Henley continued his story

_They found the old man out in the back  
With a shovel in his hand,  
Thirteen rusty mason jars  
was just dug up out of the sand.  
And they all went crazy  
And they beat the old man,  
And they picked him up off of the ground.  
Threw him in the swamp  
And stood there and laughed  
As the black water sucked him down._

_Then they turned around  
And went back to the shack  
And picked up the money and ran.  
They hadn't gone nowhere  
When they realized  
They were running in quicksand.  
And they struggled and they screamed  
But they couldn't get away  
And just before they went under  
They could hear that old man laughing  
In a voice as loud as thunder._

The entire caravan shuddered and gulped.

Henley smirked as he finished his eerie song.

_And that's been fifty years ago  
And you can go by there yet.  
There's a spot in the yard  
In the back of that shack  
Where the ground is always wet.  
And on summer nights  
If the moon is right  
Down by the that dark footpath,  
You can hear three young men screaming.  
You can hear one old man laugh._

_But I couldn't believe it!  
I just had to find out for myself.  
And I couldn't conceive it  
'Cause I never would have listened to nobody else.  
And I couldn't believe it!  
I just had to find out for myself  
There's somethings in this world you just  
can't explain.  
There's somethings in this world you just  
can't explain._

Henley let the last word draw out before Johnny stopped playing and just dropped his violin on the ground. The butler chuckled as he picked it up.

"Henley," said Johnny slowly, getting up and walking into his carriage, "Never do that again."

The butler smirked once more as his master left, "I will do that young master."

When Johnny left, the butler smiled at the remaining teens, "I do hope that I didn't scare you to much."

"O-Of course not," said Titus, pulling away from Remo, "It wasn't real, so w-what's to be afraid of."

"Oh, it was real," said Henley lazily.

"Huh?" everyone jumped.

"Yes, Mr. Clay, the Cables, and the swamp all existed," chuckled Henley, "But I don't think that the boys were that rough with Mr. Clay."

Remo gulped, "Eh?"

"Oh," the butler waved them off dismissively as he stood up, "I think they were kind enough to kill him before they threw him in the swamp."

As Henley left, everyone turned pale, stood silently, then went off to bed.

_**_Genus Mali_**_

In the white room, there was currently very mixed emotions.

Finny and Grell joined the caravan in their horror, quaking in their seats.

"Finny," complained Bard, "Come on, man up! It's just a story."

"But Mr. Henley said it was real," argued Finny.

Bard sighed, "He just said that to scare those poor kids senseless."

"No," interrupted Sebastian, "It's true."

The chef glared, "Really? You had to say that?"

"Yes," smiled the butler.

"Finny, just calm down and DON'T FORGET TO BREATHE!" Bard scolded the gardener. He then leaned back against the wall.

Grell was not as easily calmed, "Sebas-chan!" he cried, going to leap into the butler's arms, "Protect me!"

Sebastian smirked and threw the blade from his bracer. The knife hit Grell in the face with it's blunt side.

"Argh!" cried the reaper, "My beautiful face!" He then continued to wail on the floor.

"So this is why you do it," stated to William, "It makes so much sense now."

The other reaper adjusted his glasses, "It does make for a good break, indeed."

Everyone but Grell laughed, "It's not funny!" said reaper argued, "The butler is really scary!"

William kicked him and the red reaper sat angrily against the wall.

As everything calmed down, they watched the screen once more.

_**_Genus Mali_**_

The grand announcer of the Western Traveling Caravan couldn't sleep.

Normally, the wood was a home and friend to all of the Caravan, but now, Lucius Clay was around every corner of the trees as Titus lay with his companions, scattered on the ground and huddled in blankets and furs.

Titus pulled his deerskin tighter around himself as he tried to drown out the noise of the forest. Why did Henley have to be so creepy sometimes.

The rest of the group had long fallen asleep on the ground, and Johnny and Henley disappeared into the carriage. Titus seemed to be the only one left with nightmares.

Maybe it like everyone said; he was too young. Titus was the youngest and smallest of the group, but that never made him less to them.

He remembered once, in the early days of the caravan, they had stopped in a little village just outside of Wales. Titus was sent out for supplies by himself while the others 'collected donations'. Sadly, the older boys of the town saw poor little Titus with his small amount of money at the market.

When he left was heading back with the supplies and the change, the boys jumped him, took the money and supplies, but not before beating him mercilessly, but being so small, Titus couldn't fight back. He was so weak that he couldn't even get up after they all left. As he laid on the ground, Titus could hear his friends calling his name, but he didn't have the strength to call out to them.

It had been Remo that found him first. The strongman stopped only for a second before he carefully put his arms around Titus and held him, comforting the then young boy. Remo was so shocked at how light his friend was, and gently pulled Titus closer to his chest, all while calling out to his friends and whispering gentle words, begging Titus to stay awake a little bit longer.

By the time Henley took Titus from Remo, the strongman was covered in blood and sobbing hard. Titus remembered Lysandra hugging the strongman as the last thing he saw before passing out.

He woke up in Johnny's hammock three days later, with a cool towel on his head, bandages all over his body, and Remo by his side, snoring as he kept guard. Titus remembered turning his head and seeing the others in similar states. But Henley sat awake with his sleeping master's head on his lap.

The butler smiled at Titus, "You did well, go back to sleep."

He did, but his past weakness haunted him years after. Titus wanted to be taller and stronger, but even as he grew, poor Titus was still the smallest.

Johnny once listened to his rant about his stature, then ruffled his hair and said, "Your bigger than you think," before the young lord walked away.

But at that moment, Titus felt about two inches tall and eight again, even though he was fifth teen. He wanted to hide from Henley's story and grow up, but he was still scared nonetheless.

He pulled the fur over his head and curled into a ball on the forest floor when he heard a twig break near by. Titus tried to tell himself it was nothing, but he couldn't help but be afraid. In all his fear, he couldn't help but release a small sob of fear.

"Titus," said a tired voice, "It's alright, I'm here."

Titus moved the blanket away from his eyes and saw Remo kneeling beside him.

Nothing woke up the strongman. Not a bear, a stranger, a monster, and especially not nightmares. But Remo would always wake with out fail if Titus wasn't asleep soundly. Even though the biggest, he still found himself able to care about his young friend.

Titus looked up at Remo, allowing his fear to show, "Sometimes I really hate that butler," he whispered.

The strongman chuckled silently and leaned against a fallen log as he gently pulled Titus closer, letting him rest his head on his lap, "Yea but he makes up for it in food," Remo whispered back, as he petted his friends white hair, "Now get some sleep, Little Titus."

"I'm not little..." was what Titus said before he finally drifted off to sleep.

Remo smiled and wrapped the deerskin around Titus then went to sleep himself.

_**_Genus Mali_**_

Lyn couldn't stop thinking about the butler's story.

He was a magician, Lyn knew a thing or two about mystical creatures. Goblins, dragons, elves, unicorns, and such things he knew existed, but ghosts were not commonly known in the world.

But it remained a horrible thought that his past would come back to him. Lyn feared his parents could come up from the grave and do worse than in life. His father might take both eyes this time, or kill him all together. Worse, his mother could turn him into a toad. The most horrifying idea, though was what would happen to Talia.

Talia had no magic in her blood, nor hate in her mind. She wasn't her father and she loved her brother very much. She would tell him stories of her life as a rich man's daughter, how she hated it so much, and how much she loved being up high.

Lyn vowed he would protect those he loved with every part of his being. To the strong shoulder they all leaned on, Lyn vowed Remo his right leg. To Little Titus, a bringer of cheer and joy in times of despair, the left. Lysandra, who was like another sister, gained his right arm and Henley, for the times when instead of bringing pain he drove it away, managed to wrangle the left. Johnny, some how, ended up as his greatest friend and ally, so he had Lyn's only eye he had from birth, the green one. But Talia had his heart. As long as his little sister was happy, so was Lyn. It was that easy.

But if ghosts were real, and his parents came back, then he'd lose Talia. Lyn would never survive that. He'd give up all his magic to prevent it from happening.

The magician opened his eyes to look at his sister. Talia lay on the ground, covered in a blanket, but still shivering.

Lyn crawled over to her and wrapped his arms around her. His sister didn't stir, but snuggled deep into her brother's chest.

"You're a good brother," whispered Lysandra, now sitting up.

Lyn refrained from jumping in surprise, then look at the knife-thrower, "I guess I am," he drifted off for a moment, "You'll take care of Johnny right?"

Ly looked at him, considering his question, "I want to," she said, "But this is all so soon. He's distracted with being leader, I know that much, but I want to be somewhere in his heart, be it small or large," Lysandra sighed, "But you have a place in his heart, Lyn."

That time Lyn was surprised, "Huh?"

"Your his best friend, his brother," replied Lysandra, not looking at him, "Henley told me a bit about what happened to Johnny's family. He said Johnny's brother pretended to care about him, then killed his family and left. Henley was his brother's butler before, but he choose to stay with Johnny in the end. Henley hit Johnny's brother across the face, even. That's when he got Johnny's ring," she sighed, "Johnny has no one now but Henley. But he managed to fill the gaps in his heart with friends, I think."

"How do we fill the gaps left by family and friends?" questioned Lyn, adjusting his sister in his arms.

"Well," she shrugged, "I think he puts us each in place of his old life. Tally replaces his sisters and Titus and Remo take the role of the servants he worked with. I like to think he feels I'm the tamed raven he once was fond of so much, but I'm positive that he's made you his brother when he still loved him."  
Lyn stopped and looked at her, "I don't know how right you are," he said, "But if he does, then I'll be the best older brother I can for him."

Ly smiled and laid down, "Go to know."

"Hey," he whispered as he laid down himself and placed Tally next to him, "Who Henley then?"

"Hm," she thought, "I think that Henley is the father Johnny never had. He cares about him, that's easy to see, but have you ever noticed Henley doesn't get any pay? It's because he won't take anything from his master. The clothes he has are his only ones, and he won't let anyone buy any others for him. Henley's alway been there for him, and Johnny loves him for it, even if he doesn't say so."

Lyn nodded with a smile, and they both went to sleep.

_**_Genus Mali_**_

Johnny collapsed on his hammock.

He wasn't that sacred of Henley's story, but more so the underlining moral. It that in the world, the only way to live is through revenge, or you'll just be kicked around.

Johnny couldn't stand that thought. His whole life was based on revenge for the wrongs done to him, but he was still human, even if he had the skill of a demon. Johnny didn't want to become so overwhelmed in his vengeance that he would lose sight of what he was. In Henley's story of crime and vengeance, no one won. Johnny feared deeply that it would be his own quest ending the same.

When Johnny killed his brother, Henley would kill his master, and now one would live. It was that simple. No way around it.

The young lord pushed his blanket off the hammock as he turned over to face the wall. Johnny rubbed his wrist with the bracer on it.

He was growing a bit used to it, but it was still very bulky and it was always in the way. Still, Johnny saw the uses of it. It proved him with mild protection and well informed others that he was armed.

Still, it was quite a nuisance.

The young lord sigh as he closed his eye and just breathed, mind filled with deep thoughts.

Johnny's mind was no longer afraid of much, but Henley's story reminded him of his fear of loss. He lost his mother early in life, his father and sisters later, then Matt betrayed him and left. When Johnny and Henley found the Caravan, the young lord felt certain he would recover, but he soon realized his error. The only way loss can come is when you had something to lose. Johnny had a lot to lose; Lysandra, Lyn, Tally, Remo, Little Titus, even Henley, they were all at stake. If he even lost one of his new 'family', Johnny would probably die.

He took off his onyx ring as he began to prepare for bed with out standing, but stopped to look at looked at it.

The ring had long ago became his most prized possession and one trait that drew him apart from everyone else, (next to the crown emblem on his shirt and the bandages over his eye).

Johnny didn't know why he loved the ring so much, but he did. Maybe it was because it reminded him of the day it all started. The day he lost everything. Or maybe it was just his first show of power as lord. Either way, without the ring, he just didn't have the power or courage to be Johnny Traveler.

As he gazed into the polished stone, Johnny mentally traveled back to that day. He recalled the screaming, the blood, the hate. As he remembered all that had happened to him, Johnny allowed three tears to fall down his cheek; one for the bond his brother destroyed, one for his family who had past, and one for himself and the mess he was in.

At the moment the tears fell, the carriage door opened, and in came Henley.

The butler smiled sadly at his young master who simply turned his head to him and stared. Henley sighed and knelt down beside the edge of the hammock as he silently laid a hand on Johnny's head, "Holding your pain helps no one, young master."

"I can't be weak anymore," whispered the young lord.

Henley chuckled and brushed the blonde hair from his face, "Tears don't make a person weak. The coward hides his tears in shame, but the bravest man knows when there is a need for mourning."

Johnny was silent for a moment, "Is this one of those times?" he whispered as a few more tears fell.

"Whether it is or not," the butler said, "I will be right here." Henley then picked up Johnny's blanket from the floor and wrapped it around his master. Then, the butler scooped his young lord into his arms and rested the now quietly sobbing teens head against his shoulder, all while whispering into his ear calming words.

Johnny leaned into Henley's warm shoulder, silently crying into the fabric. He was blatantly aware of his butler's whispers and the hand rubbing soothing circles in his back. With the blanket around him, the young lord's sobs soon subsided, and he was fast asleep.

Henley smiled at his master. He went to lay the teen down so he could get him into his night clothes, but then the butler discovered Johnny had a firm grip on his shirt.

He tried to loosen the fingers holding his shirt, but a quiet whisper shatter the attempt, "Don't leave, Matt," was what the young lord whispered into his butler's shirt, still asleep.

At first Henley was startled, but then he smiled once more and leaned back against the wall, kicking off his shoes and sitting up in the hammock with his master in his arms, "Of course," he stated, kissing Johnny's head, "If I couldn't watch over my young master, what kind of butler would I be?"

_**_Genus Mali_ **_

_**Review! Poll! Campfire Song Song! **_


	14. His Butler, Questioned

**Omj, i am so so so so so SO sorry for the break. I've been so swamped recently, between allergy season (stupid sinuses), aftermath of April Fools day (I must clean up fish guts and yarn) and the Nearing-The-End-Of-Middle-School junk, i so far have no feeling in my body. Ugh... My updates may be slow for a while, at least my normal every other day updates won't happen till Monday, maybe Sunday. I have Spring Show. And a main role. And stage fright. Pray for me please. :p**

**Anyway, again sorry, I know i made many fangirls mad (thank swansea123 for reminding me i have a story to write) and I will write till i can proudly turn "In-Progress" over to "Complete" for the first time! It will be magical.**

**The ever crucial POLL has not changed, Henley's still on top (good for you Henley) with Lysandra and Matt tailing behind. Remember WITH NO POLL ME CAN NO CONTINUE MAKE WORDS. That was your grammar lesson for the day.**

**Reviews:**

**Kiyoko-Hikari**

_Campfire song by Lets gather around the campfireAnd sing our campfire song Our C-A-M-P-F-I-R-E S-O-N-G song... err uh I mean yay another good chapter. really looking forward to the Ly and Johnny romance. There will be some right? Please please pretty please!_

**x patrick style x SONG. SONG!... Uh, yeah that is a great song. Glad to see I didn't destroy the name of 'love' than, as i am not really a romance girl, but for you Kiyo, i put a little somethin' in this chappy ;)**

**Arisa**

_That is one creepy story._

_Sebastian cried once in his life!Well,he was Johnny,but still._

_More,more,mor__e!_

**Technically, Johnny and Sebastian ARE the same person. Like changing names. And everyone cries once in there lives (My crying is most allergy induced watering, but who cares?)**

**Disclaimer: I no own Kuroshitsuji**

**__Genus Mali__**

The next morning, everyone got up as usual and prepared for the day.

Johnny groggily stirred, and realized he was being held by his butler. The young lord felt Henley's hand on his head and the other around him, holding him tight to the butler's chest. He felt Henley's red eyes on him.

"I see my young master is awake," he said as the butler pushed Johnny to his feet, "Shall we get ready for the day?" Johnny looked his butler. Henley looked tired, and his clothes were wrinkled. There was also tear stains on his shoulder.

"Henley," the young lord asked quietly, "Were you up all night?"

The butler didn't respond, only went to his lord's dresser and pulled out Johnny's normal, orange costume. Henley put it on top of the dresser, then patted out the wrinkles in his clothes, "That is not your concern, young master," he said at last, "My concern is only for your well being and health, whatever the measures needed."

The butler put a hand gently under Johnny's chin and made his master look at him, "What happened last night is your memory only. No one will know about it in the least, nor will they even notice," Henley took off his glove and put a hand to his masters face. The butler gently rubbed the tear stains from Johnny's cheek, trying to erase them, "But should anything like it happen again, you know that I will always be by your side."

Henley then removed his hand and walked out silently. Johnny watched his butler leave, realizing that the conversation was over, and he had no say over the fact.

The young lord sighed and ran a hand over his face. He looked in the small mirror he kept on his dresser, and found himself to look less like a lord, more like an ape.

Johnny quickly brushed his messy, making the blonde mess mostly presentable and then the young lord pulled on his orange clothes, smoothing out the wrinkles.

Then he examined the bandages over his eye. He never really slept in them; it usually destroyed the bandages and rubbed against his eye. This was the case with his current appearance.

He carefully removed the tattered bandages from his face as he pulled fresh one's from the drawer. Johnny began to tightly wrap the white cloth around his eye, when he heard the door open.

"Hey Johnny, can I-" said Lysandra as she walked through the door, back turned. The knife thrower stopped when she realized that Johnny didn't have his ever present bandage's over his left eye.

Said teen quickly turned in place, trying to cover his left eye with his hand as the bandages fell off his face, "Ly!" Johnny stuttered out as his girlfriend stood in the doorway, "What are you doing here?"

The knife thrower looked from Johnny to bandages, then back to Johnny, "Are you okay," she asked finally, reaching to move his hand from his face, "What happened?"

Johnny stepped back, now out of shock, and moved his hand, but kept his left eye shut, "I'm fine, Ly," he responded, going to fix the cloth wrap to cover his eye, "Was there something you needed?"

Lysandra didn't hear her boyfriends response, only focusing on his eye.

None of performers of the Western Traveling Caravan had ever seen their leaders eye, nor did they know why it was covered all the time. When they were younger, they used to make a game of it, trying to see who could come up with the best explanation. Remo once had the notion that his evil father did it to him (none of them really knew Johnny's story that well, so guessing worked well), but Titus, who at the time hero-worshipped Johnny, rebuked and confidently said that Henley told him it was from a fist fight between a him, a bear, and band of thieves (though no one believed him).

But Lysandra didn't share her thoughts on what ever made her love hide his face; she didn't care, he was amazing to her.

When she broke out of her daze, rushed over to Johnny, pulled his hand away from the wrap, and kissed him, "I came to ask you something," Lysandra said pulled away and touching her boyfriend's closed eye, "But I suddenly forgot it."

Johnny smirked, running his hands through her black hair, "Yes, me looking like a mess in the morning is a good wake up call."

"No," she said as she kissed him again, "I just realized that those bandages cover half of the portrait of my handsome lover boy, and I've yet to meet the full picture."

The lord then took his turn to kiss her, "You know, I really love you sometimes."

Lysandra smirked, but then she got a much better look at his eye, "Why do you cover it?" she questioned, "I don't see anything wrong with it in the least."

Johnny smiled awkwardly, "It's a long story, Ly. And not a very pleasant one."

The knife thrower broke away from her boyfriend, "Tell me, Johnny!"  
"Ugh..." a tired voice sounded as the door opened, "What's with all the yelling?" Lyn walked into the carriage half asleep and whining. The magician stopped abruptly when he saw Johnny bandageless, "Woah... What's going on?"

"What does it look like?" asked Lysandra, annoyed "I wanna know what happened to his eye."

Lyn looked at his best friend for a second, taking in Johnny's closed eye, "What the hell, man?" he breathed out, "Not even a scratch and you wear bandages over your face? If your missing an eye, who really cares?"

"I'm not missing an eye!" Johnny snapped, anger growing quickly, "I said it's a long story, can you both just drop it?"

Lysandra had long left her boy friend's side. She didn't like the snappish change in Johnny, so Ly simply walk out.

Lyn was not so easily swayed, "Johnny, come on, it can't be that bad!" the magician argued.

"You don't need to know, Lyn," growled the young lord, "You wouldn't believe me in the first place."

"I'm a wizard," argued Lyn, "I replaced my left eye with my father's, only after the bastard pulled out mine," he laughed bitterly, "I'll believe anything."

Johnny stared at him for a second. Then he quickly wrapped the cloth around his still closed eye and headed for the door, "Lyn," he said quietly, not looking at him, "My secrets are what protects you and our friends. If I choose not to tell you, just please let me have that."

He left Lyn alone to think then.

**__Genus Mali__**

Grell shrieked, "Sebas-chan your eye!"

The butler put a hand to his left eye, out of reflex, "What? What's wrong?"

"There's a triangle on it!" pointed out the red reaper.

Sebastian quickly took one of the tea cups still left from their food and gazed at his own reflection, "Oh my god."  
His left eye, which had already previously changed to a bluish red color, now had a wide triangle in it's center, much like the symbol on Ciel's eye, but a bit more vivid, like it was just put there. Sebastian didn't have any pain like with the full mark was first added, but it looked raw and flesh, like Henley had just moved his hand from it.

The butler stared at his reflexion for a while, then dropped the tea cup.

Glass shattered quickly, and Sebastian fell back against the wall. He ran a hand threw his hair, letting the blonde streak in his hair mix with the black over his face.

"But how can your curse mark come back if your demon is-" Ciel cut himself off, "Isn't here," the earl said, "So your contract was filled."

Sebastian shook his head, "No, young master, our contract was not filled."

"Why not?" questioned William, "If I took it correctly, your contract specified your butler assisting you in killing your brother, protecting you till your death, and giving you the powers of a demon," the reaper adjusted his glasses, "Your brother had been dead from the beginning of the contract, making that clause completed immediately. And as you are still alive and well, though by what we can understand, Mr. Kitts is not," William ignore the servants glares, "So I would say that he protected you quite well. And finally, I think it's obvious that you attained your goal of power. So why would your contract not have been fulfilled?"

Sebastian glared at him for a minute, "Well," he said, snappishly, "I think you'll find your answer quite soon if you would just shut your trap and sit your smart ass down. My guess is that only part of the contract came back either way."

William stared at the butler wide eyed, not expecting such a reprisal, but he calmed down and went back to watching the screen silently.

The butler sighed and leaned his head back against the wall once more. The servants didn't comment about what just happened, but Ciel took a look at his butler to be meet with red/blue eyes looking at him.

The earl looked at his butler for a moment or two before he spoke in a child like whisper, "Do you still miss him?"

Sebastian allowed himself a small smile, "I never stopped."

**__Genus Mali_ _**

**_Review! Poll! Death to Allergies!_**


	15. His Butler, Visited

Sorry for the delays, I'm still sick and I need to clean my room.

I'm gonna make this quick, so I'm skipping review responses (sorry)

Anyway, please look at my poll... blah... crucial to plot blah blah... Insert interesting words here blah...

_Genus Mali_

Titus was humming to himself while he washed the horses.

Normally, washing the two black and white horses was Remo's job, as he was much larger, but the strongman was currently busy making a few repair under the carriage, so the task befell upon Titus.

"Come on, Spot!" laughed the white-haired boy to the white horse that stayed close to it's black counter part, "What's wrong girl, your never like this!"

Poor Titus had never seen the horses like this. Normally, it was Dot, the black stallion, that misbehaved, not his mild-mannered, white companion. Spot was normally a quiet and obedient mare, making her resistance quite odd.

"Need some help, Titus?" called Remo from under the carriage.

"No!" the boy responded, "I can handle it." Though in all honesty, Titus really would have appreciated some help with the horses, but he wanted to do it on his own, to prove his worth.

Titus went back to Spot, wet rag in hand, and tried to make her move. But, regardless of his efforts, the mare stood stiffly beside Dot. Something had the horses spooked beyond anything Titus had ever seen before.

Suddenly, he heard the carriage door open, closed, open again, then repeat over the course of five minutes. Lysandra, Johnny, and Lyn all exited, looking positively livid with each other. Ly quite quickly sat on a fallen log and began sharpening her already deadly knives and Johnny sat down awkwardly next to her, playing with a tread on his tunic.

"Hey, Little Titus," said Lyn, glumly, as he approached him, "Anything wrong?"

Titus hesitated, then shrugged, "I think something's wrong with the horses."

The young magician went to put a hand on Spot's back, but she snorted as she back away, "Hum," he mused out loud, "That is odd. I wonder what has them so spooked."

Lyn snapped his fingers and a carrot was in his hand. He waved in front of the horses, tempting them to go on, but they didn't even stir, "Something is really off-"

He was cut off by the sound of foot steps on the forest floor.

_Genus Mali_

A tall, lank man walked down the pathway through the forest, approaching the caravan, "Excuse me, children!" he called out to them, "I'm looking for a Mr. Traveller."

The group stopped and turned to the man, quite miffed at being referred to as 'children'.

"Mister," growled Lysandra, flipping a knife in her hand, "I am not in the mood to be underestimate, so I highly suggest you move on."

The man came up to their camp, and tipped his hat to them, "Pardon me, miss," he apologized, "I suppose that was out of place. From what I have heard of you all, you are most definitely not children."

"Got that right," scowled Remo as he climbed out from under the carriage.

The man chuckled, "Regardless, I need to speak your master."

"I'm not there master," interrupted Johnny, standing up, "But you may still speak with me."

The tall man simply blinked and looked their leader in for a second or two, then he laughed, "Well, now," he said, "That is quite a turn of events for me!" the man handed Johnny his card, "My name is Dachs Strathmore, and I am-"

"The King's Badger," interrupted Johnny, dismissively, "Even to us lowly peasants, the Strathmore name is well known throughout the land."

"The King's Badger!?" exclaimed Talia, "But that makes you a nobleman! An earl! What would you need with us?"

Dachs Strathmore laughed once more, "My, you all are quite smart, but I believe that what I must say to the young 'lord' should behind closed doors," he motioned to the carriage, "Shall we?"

Johnny considered him for a moment, then opened the door and stepped in, Henley following, "Come then, Earl Strathmore, we will converse inside," he looked to Lyn, "You too, Lyn," at his friend's shock, Johnny took his turn to laugh, "You are my second, no matter what angry words we share."

Lyn smiled and followed Johnny into the carriage with the man.

_Genus Mali_

"Come," said Johnny, turning his desk chair to face his guest, "Tell me what it is you wish to share, Earl Strathmore."

Lyn stood on Johnny's right side and Henley stood behind his master, watching the strange man sit in a provided chair.

Dachs Strathmore was a tall man around his late twenties. His arms and legs seemed to have out grown the rest of his body. Everything about him was like a bright glowing light. His silver hair was almost as white as Titus', but it had a slight bluish tinge to it and was much longer. Dachs wore it tied down in a loose ponytail over his back. His clothes were expensive but simple and ahead of the time; a light colored dress shirt, brown leather pants, a cloth belt, black boats, and dark brown trench coat. Dachs' face was bright and the picture of health. His complexion was clear and his skin was smooth. His teeth were as white as a pearl, but his eyes were the clearest thing about him. They were a startling jade color, like the stem of a flower right before it fully blooms, though they were partially hidden by a thin pair of wire glasses. His eyes looked like they well cheerful and eager, but then, looking into them even deeper, a strange, darkness that showed the true nature of the young man.

"Please," said Dachs, putting up a hand to Johnny, "Skip the formalities and call me Dachs."

Johnny folded his hands on his lap and looked at Dachs, "You aren't really an earl are you?"

He just laughed and leaned back in his seat, "I was at one time. I am the youngest and last remaining son of the Earl of Strathmore, but I was disinherited before my father's death," Dachs smirked slyly, "Regardless, the King still requires the service of a Badger to hunt out his enemies for him. I was the only one left."

"So this makes me an enemy of the King," asked the young lord, off-handedly, "As you did seek me out."

"Not at all!" chuckled Dachs, "I was asked to deliver a message from the King to you."

"And what would the King want with us?" questioned Lyn, hesitantly interrupting, "We've done nothing to upset the Crown."

Dachs laughed, "No, you and your friends have only robbed most of England blind with out them even knowing, all while putting on a right good show. Ain't that right, Little Mr. Walker?"

Johnny stiffened, "Just who exactly do you think you are? I suggest you state your message, and it better be a good one or I may just kill you my self."

Dachs smirked and stood up, "I told you before who I am, I am Dachs. I hunt out England's crooks and thieves for the King when he wants it done quietly, but I will do anything for my King. He asked me to hunt down certain little band of rouge orphans traveling in a caravan through his country. I have found you, so I will give you this," he handed a small parcel into Henley's outstretched hand, "For some reason or another, it seems that the King is gathering certain people from from around England for something. Please consider his offer."  
Dachs stood up, bowed and smirked as he quickly exited the carriage without a word.

_Genus Mali_

"Is that who I think it is?" questioned Will, eyeing Dachs' image.

Sebastian didn't look at him, but he simply nodded, "Yea, that's the old Badger alright."

"Huh?" asked Finny, "You know who he is, too?"

Grell smiled brightly and laughed, "Of course, old Dachs was always a sly devil, but I never thought he would have anything to do with mortals and demons."

"Please shut up," Sebastian interrupted, "There's no point in ruining a good story for everyone else."

The two reapers nodded a grumbled to themselves.

"What kind of man gets involved with demons, thieves, and reapers?" commented Bard, "Is he human?"

Sebastian smirked, "Sometimes."

"Sometimes?!" the chief argued, "What in God's name is that supposed to mean?"

The butler hit him on the head with his gauntlet, "It means that you don't need to know yet. You'll find out soon enough."

"Strathmore," Ciel mused to himself, "That's quite a noble name. If I recall, there are a few in Parliament currently under that name."

"Yes, the Strathmore's were a good family," replied Sebastian, "Of course, Dachs was never one to follow traditions. Honestly, I'm not even sure if he understood the real concept of 'good'."

The earl looked at his butler, "Hm, not like your really one to talk."

Before he could restrain him self, Sebastian laughed, running a hand through his black/blonde hair, "My you are cruel."

"Indeed," Ciel stiffly replied, "Now I would firmly like to know what happens next, so shall we go on?"

_Genus Mali_

Review! Poll! Action!


	16. His Butler, Enraged

**I am BEYOND sorry about how short the last chapter was, I didn't have a lot of time to write but I really wanted to update.**

**Anyway, I hope that this is much more to your liking! Next chapter, I will continue answering reviews, as there really aren't many reviews currently.**

**Again, I am REALLY sorry about how much I've been slacking off on this and my other stories, I've just been really busy and my heads pounding. Don't worry, I promise you that I will NOT give up on this story, like the others, Genus Mali will be completed!**

**In light of my major absence, I have tried very hard to make this my best chappy yet. Here, many canon character's begin to enter and this actually starts to look like a Kuro story! That and it's a bit longer.**

**Don't forget to answer my poll for the story (it's still vitally important) and I'd really appreciate reviews, as they really boost the old self-esteem.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Kuroshitsuji**

**_GenusMali_**

Johnny ran a hand over his face when Dachs left, "Who does that man think he is, ordering us around?" the young lord looked out the window, watching his 'guest' leave the camp.

"What's in the package, Henley?" questioned Lyn, childishly glancing at said object, "Is it really from the King?"

The butler looked to his young master for permission to open the parcel. Johnny nodded absent-mindedly, not even turning to look at his loyal butler. Henley then set to work opening it.

The package was wrapped in an expensive parchment that had a slight purplish tinge to it. It was tied with thick hemp and a royal seal was pressed firmly on it, "Hmm," Henley said as he undid the seal, "It seems that the royal stamp is on it. It very well may be from the king, young master."

"Well, then what's in it?" Johnny said, turning to him, "I'm intrigued. What about you, Lyn?"

Lyn shrugged, "Yeah, I mean, this is royalty were talking about here."

"True," agreed Henley, easing off the package's purple paper and handing it to his master, "Royalty do tend to do things a bit extravagantly," he smirked, "Then again, my young lord always has had a love of theatrics as well. "

Lyn couldn't help but laugh, while Johnny merely mumbled under his voice and smacked his second-in-command upside the head. After they calmed, Johnny examined the contents of the package.

Inside the box was a thin envelope sealed with the same mark on the parcel itself. The letter inside it was written on an expensive parchment that smelled of what seemed like a rich man's cigar. The paper was placed on top of a small box about half the size of Johnny's palm. It was made of a strong mahogany and its clasp was small and gold. On its lid was the same seal as the letter and the package, but accented with golden ridges.

"Theatrics, huh?" mused the blonde boy, "It does seem that way."

"What does the letter say?" asked Lyn, inquisitively.

"_To the 'Young Lord of the Western Traveling Caravan,'" _read the young lord, "_In examining my land and country, I have recently found there to be large amounts of disorder among the populace. A dark enemy has begun to emerge from the people I love so (for the sake of faster writing, I shall call this the 'Underworld').' _What the hell is this?" he stopped.

Henley shrugged, "I did say that royalty tend to be a bit theatrical, didn't I?"

Johnny rolled his eyes and went on with the letter, "_This 'Underworld' has always been here, but it has quickly begun to grow quite rapidly and largely. I have been able to hide the growing problems from the majority of England with the help of the Badger, Dachs Strathmore, but it seems that his abilities not enough to maintain a peace between that of the public's world and that of the Underworld. I sincerely ask you to serve you King and your country. _Serve my King and country? If this is really from the king, he must not be very bright, eh?"

"_I am aware of your current situation (I have heard many a tale of you and traveling thieves). _Sounds like we're famous, right Lyn?" said Johnny, unable to restrain a chuckle.

"Any mention of a handsome magician?" smirked Lyn, though he was quickly hit again upside the head, this time by Henley.

"Please, do try to focus," the butler sighed. Johnny went on as Lyn pouted.

"_I realize that, as a thief, you are most likely not interested in nobly serving your King, but I do believe, if my sources are correct, that you can't refuse you own blood and the secrets to holds, as well as the responsibility pressed upon you."_

The young lord looked over the words a few times again in his head, realizing the reality of this letter. What person besides _the King of England _would have the ability to bring out his past to light? No one, except maybe for his butler, as he _was _a demon after all. But still, if this really was from the King himself, then why would he go so deep into the past of a mere thief? It could only mean that whatever this letter was about was a very _very serious _matter.

"Young master?" asked a worried Henley, placing a gentle, gloved hand on Johnny's shoulder, "Are you all right?"

Johnny didn't realize till then that he must have zoned out for a brief moment, "Yes, Henley," he answered as he shook off his butler's hand, "Just thinking."

"I see," nodded Henley, taking the paper from him, "May I continue for you?"

Johnny nodded, feigning off Lyn's worried gaze, and Henley went on with the letter.

"_I ask that you and your companions travel to my castle in Cornwall by the date of June 3__rd__. When you arrive, simply show the enclosed idem to the guards at the gate, and they will escort you to me. I ask only that you keep your number of companions (of which I know you are fond of keeping) to two at a minimum. Sincerely yours, King Henry VII."_

Lyn looked at Johnny for permission, then he open the small, mahogany box and took out a small, gold statue of vulture in flight.

Johnny was silent for a moment, pondering his choose of action, "Lyn, go and tell the others to prepare the carriage for travel."

"Sure," he said, jumping out of the carriage.

"Does this mean we're going to see the king?" asked Henley, walking to his master's side.

Johnny turned to look at him, "Of course, I'm not daft. If I don't go to King Henry's castle, he will most certainly let out information to the public of my… past. It's a threat."

Henley sighed, "And how exactly is that a threat, young master?" the butler ran a hand threw his hair, "It honestly wouldn't do much harm for such information to be leaked. Really, I don't think such minor information would affect the Caravan's opinion of you in the least-"He stopped and thought about what he said, realizing that they weren't the right ones to express the truth to the now shaking teen.

"Minor?" Johnny seethed out as he turned away from his butler, hands clenched at his side, "You think that all the shit I've been though is just _minor?_ Honestly, Henley, of all the people to irk me today, I really didn't expect you to be on the list too."

"Young master, I-" the butler tried to put a soothing hand on his master's shoulder like he always did to calm him down, but he was shaken off.

"Just, save it," Johnny growled, "Just shut up, Henley, you've done enough. Leave."

Henley grabbed Johnny by the shoulders and made him turn around, "Young master, please listen to-"

"SHUT THE FUCK UP!" Johnny couldn't restrain it. All the anger, the fighting that had happened this morning between him, Lyn, and his lover, the King's threat, and now Henley's bad word choice, all of this anger rose up in him. After all Henley had taught him on restraining himself so that his soul would never darken and become demonic faded. The stress just got to him and Johnny snapped.

The young lord's eyes went dark and dilated. Johnny's deft fingers grew clawed as he swung back, aiming a wild, strong lash at his butler.

Henley, for the most part, was taken off guard. He easily dodged the attack, sending his master past him in his rage, through the door.

Johnny lost his control as he fell out the carriage door, clawed hand still outstretched. When Henley regained his composer, he rapidly went to grab his young master before his deadly demonic fury could do anymore damage. The butler had figured out from the first yell that his master was going into a demonic rage. Young demons were quite prone to such fits, quite like toddlers to tantrums or teens to mood swings, but he didn't expect Johnny to be set off by such an obscure thing as stress, especially as he really wasn't a demon, but a demonic human. The difference was that, mainly, despite Johnny's excellent abilities, he was much slower developing than a full-fledged demon. Because of this, Henley was not expecting such an outburst so soon, and he was quite unprepared to handle it.

And he was not prepared to explain Johnny's state to his friends

"Johnny!" cried Lysandra, from her seat on the log, "What the hell are you doing?"

Lost in his complete rage, Johnny didn't even work to register his girlfriend's cry before he landed from his fall and lunged for her.

She screamed before Lyn jumped in and tried to grab his best friend from behind, "What the fuck do you think you're doing man?"

Johnny elbowed Lyn in the rib quickly, knocking him to the side. Talia screamed her brother's name as he fell to the ground unconscious.

Henley went right into action, scooping Lyn up and moving him out of harm's way, "All of you," the butler said, quickly before his master could move, "Get inside the carriage, fast. Don't ask questions, just move-"

"I'LL KILL YOU!" screamed Johnny, his voice uncharacteristically venomous. He lunged again to them, aiming for Henley once more.

The butler once again dodged out of reflex, leaving those behind him open to the demonic claws. Specifically, the claws were right on track for Remo's chest.

_**_GenusMali_**_

Mey-rin couldn't help but give a little yelp, as did Finny and Grell.

_So _that _is raw demon power, _mentally mused Ciel, _Even when they aren't fully demons, the pure rage they have is incredible. It could level a mountain with ease. _

The earl had seen Sebastian in such a state of rage only once in his life; when the Undertaker had been threatening his life on the Campania. It seemed that being wounded at the time only made him stronger, as he was desperate to save his master and himself. Still, Johnny's rage of pure anger showed how much Sebastian held back currently. If he didn't, as a full demon, he would probably be like Finny, destroying everything in his wake.

The butler himself shifted uneasily behind him. He kept toying with gloves and running his hands through his hair, though his eyes never left the screen.

Sebastian obviously felt ashamed by his past rage. Such a calm, collective being as he was, the butler obviously didn't want even a bit of his past to show.

The earl remembered what his butler had told him before he passed out at the beginning of this mess the angel pulled them into: _Don't judge me on what I have done. _Those weak, broken words hadn't made much sense till now. Ciel could see that his butler had been afraid not at what he himself would see, Sebastian was more afraid of _everyone else _seeing it. He had been hiding so much for so long, the prospect of anyone accepting a _monster _capable of so much _destruction _was highly unlikely.

That was what was truly terrifying.

Before the earl could stop himself, Ciel had turned around to face his butler. His redish-blue eyes were wide and his hands were fidgeting. Sebastian stared straight past him and watched his younger self attacking his best friend, almost like in a trance.

"Sebastian," Ciel tried to rouse him to no avail, "Sebastian, snap out of it," the butler remained staring, "Sebastian, do something!"

The earl hadn't even realized when his hand found his butler's shoulder, but he couldn't help but realize the symbolism. It seemed that Henley had found putting a hand on that the same spot on Johnny Traveler's shoulder in times of distress seemed to calm everything from nightmares to injuries, and, by his reaction, the trigger point had definitely stayed with Sebastian Michealis.

The butler was roused from thought when the small hand of his master touched his shoulder. He hesitated like he was ready to resist, but then Sebastian simply closed eyes and leaned into the hand, suddenly feeling very drained.

The butler missed being able to relax (of course this really wasn't time to relax, but it was better than nothing. He missed knowing that he was safe. He missed knowing that someone actually cared. That, if anything were to happen, someone would miss _him_.

The hand on his shoulder reminded him of a better time, a time when the word wasn't on his shoulders, when someone else could be 'one hell of a butler'.

And maybe that hand meant that maybe, _just maybe, _he could get through this.

So, Sebastian opened his eyes, took a deep breathe, smiled at Ciel reassuringly, then gentle lead the earl to turn back around and lean on his chest. The butler leaned his chin in his master's hair as they continued to watch Johnny's demonic rage.

_**Review! Poll! Updates!**_


	17. His Butler, Unsure

_**Hi! Updates are slow, I know :P But here we are. Enjoy!**_

_**Please visit my poll on my profile, and I know have a Facebook page "DanelleSepthon"! Please LIKE!**_

_**_GenusMali_**_

Black demonic claws swung as Henley flinched away. Specifically, they swung right at the large target of Remo's chest.

The strongman had rushed bravely in front of his smaller comrades, shielding them with his body. Remo didn't care if his life was at stake; no one, not even the one who freed them from their enslavement as children and shared their childhoods, would _ever _hurt his friends. Johnny and Henley were like family too (he'd give his life for either of them if it came to it), but they weren't slaves. They weren't there through the beginning.

Remo would stand in front of an army of demons (even though he didn't realize he was standing before a demi-demon) if it meant saving his family and he was okay with his fate at the hands of Johnny Traveler, but before Johnny's rage struck Remo down, a small, white blur lunged in front of him as the sound of claw meeting flesh rung through the air.

Blood spurted out as Titus fell to the ground in a heap, breathing heavy. Johnny stopped in his tracks at the sound of his comrades screams and cries, as if awoken from a strange dream. He stumbled for a second as his eyes rested on prone form of Titus, then he ran off into the woods without a word.

The rest of the caravan weren't that worried at the moment about him. They all gathered round their fallen announcer.

Remo knelt slowly next to his best friend, unable to say a word. Lysandra's lip quivered as she and a sobbing Talia joined the strongman on the ground. Lyn remained standing; looking off in the direction Johnny went. The wizard was about to go after him, but Henley stopped him.

"Lyn," said the butler, placing a hand in front of him, "I will go after the young master, you must stay here and try to heal Titus."

Lyn was about to argue, but a sob of complete hopelessness escaped from Remo as more and more blood poor from Titus. The magician nodded briefly to Henley before he to knelt beside Titus, gently moving him to examine his wounds as Henley ran off in the direction of his young master.

When Lyn flipped the white-haired boy over, another splash of blood soaked the ground as Talia buried her face in Ly's shirt.

When Titus took the blow for taller friend, a blow to the chest became a blow to the face for the still rather short boy. His once pale, clean face was now coated in layers of thick red. Deep, jagged cuts slashed through his right eye and neck. A hand that had come up the try and block the demonic claws had a smaller slash to the pinkie finger. The red just kept pouring out of his wounds.

"Titus…" Remo whispered as he gently cupped a muscular hand around Titus' face, like he once did when the younger had bad dreams (oh how he hoped this was just a bad dream) and he leaned his face next Titus', "Why? Why would you do something so stupid like this?"

"R-Re…." struggled Titus, mouth barely opening more than a sliver, "R-Rem… o…"

Lyn shushed him as he sent the girls to get the supplies that were in the carriage, "Sh… save your strength, Little Titus," he whispered, petting his hair for a second before turning back to the wounds.

"N-n-no…" the boy struggled against the blood in his mouth, "I-I-I-I h-haad… t-t-to… sh-s-savve…"

Remo took his unslashed hand in his own and rubbed soothing circle in to it, "You didn't. You didn't have to save me, Little Titus," he whispered like a mantra, "I would have been alright. Johnny wouldn't have hurt me. You know that."

Titus tried to shake his head, but it only sent him into a coughing fit, "U-u-y-yo-you wooen hav ben… o-o-on a l-lis-is-st…"

Lyn and Remo both looked at each in confusion before returning to their tasks, "List?" questioned Remo, "What list am I on?"

"P-p-pap-p-pa's l-lis-is-st…" he whispered, "P-pap-ah's l-lis-st… s-s-said… s-s-sai… d…"

"Said what, Titus?" asked the strongman, fighting to keep him awake as the Ly returned with the medical kit and left to comfort Talia in the carriage.

"I-I-It s-ssays y-you d-ddi-ed J-J-Jun thwen-thy fourth… 1504…" Titus looked at him, opening his once brilliant white eyes that were now very, very tired, and he gave a sad little smile with his blood-crusted teeth, "_Daddy's list is always right._ _But I made it wrong." _

Remo's shock was short lived when Titus pulled his hand away weakly, and reached into his bloody pocket. Before the white-haired boy could pull out what he was looking for, though, Titus lost consciousness.

_**_GenusMali_**_

"Oh it's just too sad!" sobbed Grell, "Such a beautiful child torn from the world!"

William elbowed him in the ribs hard, "Please, Sutcliffe, have some dignity. You collect souls for a living, it's not that new to you."

"Oh Will!" the red reaper fawned, "You're so rough with me!" That earned him another jab.

Finny hesitantly poked Grell's arm, "What do you want, you little twerp?" Grell growled, turning from William.

"Um, I was just wondering…" the gardener asked unsurely, "Do you know what he meant by 'Papa's list'?"

"Yeah," agreed Bard, "It does kinda sound like something eerie and, uh, reapery."

William raised an eyebrow at them, but simply reached into his pocket and brought a small, leather-bound book, "I'm not positive, but I believe he may be talking about something of this sort."

Grell gasped, "You don't really think that the little boy knew about the to-die list, Will?"

"It would seem that way," he replied, "It is quite probable, as he was able to predict his friend's death. The only problem is that reapers his age don't have access to the to-die list."

"Wait a blooming minute," interrupted Bard, "What the hell is a 'to-die list'?"

William sighed, "In a brief summary, the to-die list is basically our work quota. It tells us how everyone is going to die, when, where, and how. Our job as reapers is to reap the souls of those on the to-die list and watch their Cinematic Records, which are basically something like what we're watching now, but only reapers can see them. We judge the lives of humans by their Record and determine if they are to die or if their lies would benefit mankind. Sadly, there have been very few people whose lives were worth saving."

"That's a bit harsh, says Wordsworth," sighed Snake.

"That's why we put 'Grim' in front of it," smiled Grell, "And Will, the boy can't be a reaper, his eyes are silver, not green."

William adjusted his glasses, "Sutcliffe, you know that some reapers eyes aren't born green."

"Of course, your eyes weren't," huffed Grell, "But that usually is to determine if reapers are for certain departments, and white isn't one of the colors."

"I didn't know that," Sebastian thought out loud.

Ciel huffed, "Well that's something."

"Yes indeed," Grell said, "While most reapers, like me, are born reapers, with their eyes already green, others are born into the world non-reapers, or reapers with different colored eyes. Their eyes change as they mature, or when they grow aware of their power if they aren't raised by reapers. I believe there are six kinds of eye colors and each represents a different personal attribute that puts them in certain fields. Yes, red eyes are usually out in the field, blue make good medics, deeper green do well in tactics and strategy, yellow are the public face of the shinigami. Oh, those yellowed-eyed ladies and hunks are so beautiful!"

William rolled his eyes, "The brown eyed reapers are in charge behind the desk in headquarters. And of course there are-"

"Grey eyes!" Grell swooned, "That's you Will!"

"What does grey mean?" questioned Mey-rin.

Grell smirked, "Grey eyed reapers are the brains behind the operation. They're the perfect mix of brain and brawn," he cuddled up to William, "And hunk, too!"

William punched him in the face, "Please have some dignity, your embarrassing the title of shinigami.

"Hm…" mused the earl, "Then how _did_ the boy have access to a to-die list, Sebastian?"

The butler sighed, "Is it really that important to ask me everything you're going to see before it happens? Even I don't understand some of the things that happened back then, and what I do is all a blur from the time that's past."

Ciel took that as a 'Shut your trap if you like your soul to be in your body' kind of response, so he just leaned back and shut mouth.

_**_GenusMali_**_

Remo let tears streak down his face as he lift Titus into his arms, "God… why?"

"Remo…" Lyn whispered, "He's not dead yet, he still has a chance if we hurry."

The strongman nodded as he stood up, holding his friend closer to his muscular chest. The two boys calmly sat by the fire, as Lyn really didn't want either Talia seeing Titus in this state _or _his best friend to see the blood stains after whatever he was going through ended.

Lyn really didn't believe Johnny would randomly attack them. He was too kindhearted for it. Sure, he was a bit rough at times, but he had nerves of solid rock; it took a lot for him to break. By the way he'd been screaming, it sounded like Johnny's anger was more so directed at his butler. Perhaps he was stressed over the upcoming meeting with the king, which left him on a short fuse. Still, something had to be _extremely _wrong for something for him to attack Henley.

Lyn broke out of his thoughts and motioned for Remo to let him see Titus' wounds.

Remo hesitantly moved Titus to sit against his side, legs on the log, facing Lyn. The strongman gently moved his friend's bleeding hand on to his lap. He took the other hand in his own and rubbed soothing circles on the top.

Lyn picked up the medical kit and pulled out the antiseptic. He put some on a cloth and started dabbing his worst wound; his neck.

Remo bite his lip as Titus tried to move away from Lyn's hand. The smaller boy leaned back deeper against him and moaned in pain. It broke the strong man's heart.

The magician couldn't help this, so he just went on. As he cleaned the wound, Lyn took note that that though it was exactly superficial, but it was, thankfully it wasn't actually as bad as he had thought. Lyn might not even need that magic to heal him. Of course, there'll still be scars, that can't be helped, but still, at least there was a good chance Titus was going to be okay.

Lyn brought out a needle and thread, which made Remo flinch. He calmly approached the ragged wound and pressed the needle into the skin.

Titus tried to move away from the pain, but Remo's firm hand kept him still.

It was quite impossible to make the stiches small, but Lyn did try to make as few as possible. He only took about five minutes to stich up his neck with as few as fifteen stiches almost completely around it. Remo kept Titus as still as he could, but the stitches still weren't very straight due to Titus' silent flinching. Lyn put down the needle and used a small amount of power to enforce the stitching a bit more.

Lyn was able to do his finger at a much quicker pace, but the boy's face was going to be a problem.

The slash went right threw his right eye, but thankfully it didn't do much damage to the eye itself. The cut went over his nose, which would be a problem as well as it broke Titus' nose as well. If Lyn didn't do the stitching right, the boy's face would be destroyed beyond recognition.

Remo gently rubbed Titus' shoulder as Lyn began stitching again.

Unlike the understanding Lyn, Remo was infuriated. He felt betrayed and angry with their. leader. What had Titus done? Why would Johnny do this? Still, he felt that, regardless of his reason, Johnny Traveler needed to pay for the pain and suffering he made Titus go through. Johnny Traveler would pay.

_**_GenusMali_**_

Henley ran quickly through the woods, after his master.

_God, why did he have to be so fast? _Wondered Henley as he ran, _No, Kitts, it's your fault for teaching him as much. _

The butler leapt over a log and continued in his self-rant as he ran, _This is your fault, maybe if you focused more on control him, then the young master would have never even done this._

_No, wait, _Henley thought back, _Whatever triggered this whole damn thin_g _couldn't have been what I said, it had to be something else. But what? What in the world could cause him to burst out like that? The young master is usually so calm and patient. Why would he go in to demonic rage _now_?"_

The butler ran all the faster as he thought of it. He saw the look on Johnny's face when he went out of rage. He was probably feeling very guilty about his actions, but in all truth, he had no control over any of it.

Demon rages were to be expected; Johnny's human, kind and good-natured self-contradicting with his growing demonic urges. Truthfully, it was more than expected, it was inevitable.

Henley cursed as his coat was caught on a branch. He didn't have time for this, he needed to think. There was so much he needed to figure out. He had so much to think up.

He needed an explanation for the caravan about his young master's behavior. He would also most likely need to get medicine for Titus as Lyn can only do so much. Also, the carriage door now needed to be fixed, as well as the interior and part of the exterior. There just wasn't enough time to do it all, even if he _was _one hell of butler.

Henley Kitts had always been a skillful man; quick in wits, and fast with words, but frankly this maybe the one thing he _can't _fix. But God damn it, he would _not _just sit back and lose his master.

After getting his coat off the branch, the butler continued on, demon speed edging him on faster and faster as he went.

_**_GenusMali_**_

"What have I done?" a weak whisper fell from his lips, "Oh God, what have I done."

Johnny Traveler sat on a fallen log in the woods, far away from anyone. He stared at his blood soaked hands. He needed to end it. It needed to stop before he killed someone he loved.

So Johnny took his knife from his bracer.

The young half-demon looked at his reflection in the blade. Oh how much he _hated _the monster that looked back at him. He didn't belong with humans or demons. And he _wanted _this, he _agreed _to this. Johnny felt like a fool.

He dragged everyone down with his stupid ideas, and know he almost killed Titus. All because he wasn't careful enough to control himself. Johnny knew that he had to stay calm or something like this could happen, but he did it anyway. He let himself be dragged into so many arguments that he just lashed out.

In Johnny's mind, his rage must have made everybody hate him. He felt that now, he had no one left, that even Henley would leave him, all because of his weakness. He was sick with him self.

"No more," he said into his hand, "I will harm you no more." He slowly turned the knife in this hand so that its sharp tip was pointed to his chest.

"I will hurt you know more!" he cried as he thrust down his knife with demonic speed.

The blade sail fast and true, and it would have hit its mark, if only a white gloved hand hadn't taken the smaller fist into his own, and wrapped and arm around his neck.

_**_GenusMali_**_

Henley rubbed circles into his master's shoulder from behind as he held back the blade, "Put down the knife, young master."

"No," Johnny responded, shaking quietly, "I can't do that."

"Why not?" Henley chuckled sadly, resting his chin on Johnny's head, "It very simple, you just-"

"I tried to kill you," the young lord mumbled, "I hurt Titus. I scared Lysandra. I almost destroyed everything. I could do it again. I need to die."

The butler sighed, "_Tried_, _almost, could._ You need nothing more than to calm down, your only overly excited. Rage is quite normal for someone in your position. The fact that you came out of it so quickly is astonishing to me."

"But Titus-"

"Will be fine with rest and medicine," Henley said, "Of course, he will have scars for life, but it just adds character in a way, don't you think?"

Johnny said nothing except he leaned a bit in Henley.

The butler in turn gently eased the blade from his master's hand and slipped it into his pocket.

"You're not a monster," he whispered into the blonde hair, "You are doing your best with your situation. Maybe that's why the king requested your presence. You work so well with so little. For that, I respect you. Know that if anything like this ever happens again, I will be here through everything, you are not alone."

Henley stood up and put a hand out, "Shall we?"

Johnny looked up at him, his one blue eye wide, then he hesitantly took the offered hand and let his butler pull him to his feet. Henley draped his slightly ripped tailcoat around him and led him forward with a gloved hand on his shoulder gently easing him on. Another hand chose to run through his master's hair soothingly.

Neither said a word as they went through the woods, rather, they enjoyed the silence and the fact that they both still had the other by their side.

_**Review! Poll! Love!**_


	18. His Butler, Treatened

**Hey! I'm back! Sorry, finals this week and I'm TOTALLY swamped *groan* Make the numbers stop… At least Social Studies isn't that bad. Hetalia makes it a little easier to remember whose who **

**Anyway, don't forget my poll on my profile; so far, Henley is winning.**

**I don't own Kuroshitsuji**

Titus was very tired.

His whole body felt really heavy and it hurt to breathe. He honestly wondered if he was dead. Everything was numb and painful all at the same time. All he remembered was Johnny going on a rampage then a huge claw aimed at Remo and an enormous burning in his face.

The teen took a second to try and understand where he was, though he didn't dare to open his eyes yet. Titus felt like he was lying flat on his back, and the slight tension on his chest suggested to him that his throbbing, injured hand was resting on it. Also, he could faintly feel a gentle yet firm hand squeezing his good hand. Titus could feel something soft underneath him, which to his numb body, felt like a fuzzy cloud caressing him. This, he wagered, was most likely Johnny's bed, though the firmness of what was beneath him hardly felt at all like a hammock.

Titus hazarded to open one eye just a sliver, just enough for him to see.

Remo sat beside him as he lay on the ground on top of a fur and covered in blankets. His friend was cross-legged, holding his hand tightly. Lyn was standing by the carriage door, worriedly looking into the woods.

"Titus?" whispered the oddly silent strongman, "How are you feeling?" He ran a gentle, calloused hand threw the white hair slowly as he leaned closer to him.

The boy just looked up at him with tired eyes, "Hm?"

Remo chuckled silently as he stroked his friends face, avoiding the stiches, "I asked if you were feeling any better."

"I'm 'kay, Remo," shrugged whispered, "Just a little bit tired, is all." Titus flinched from the sudden movement. His head spun and he thought he was going to pass out again.

Remo didn't miss the movement, and he clenched a fist, "I will never forgive that bastard," he growled at no one in particular.

"Remo…" Lyn said from his spot by the carriage, warningly.

"I don't care, Lyn," Remo said, "He's gone too far. I can't forgive Johnny this time, nor any other time in the future," the strongman took his friend's hand, "Not after this."

"Remo, stop!" Titus argued weakly, "Please don't do this."

"No, Little Titus," the strongman shushed the injured boy, "Don't worry."

"No!" he pushed the hand away, "Don't hate Johnny because of me. I don't want that."

Lyn walked over and laid a hand on the pale teen's head, "I think he's getting a fever."

"Remo, please," he whispered, "Don't do anything to Johnny. Please, I don't want you to die like the book said. Don't leave me alone."

"What's all this about a book anyway?" the strongman questioned, "You said it belonged to your father right? You never talk much about him." Remo shooed away Lyn, who in turn left off to the carriage.

"Papa was a nice man," Titus said dreamily, "He was a little weird, but he was never mean to me, and he gave me food and a warm place to live. Papa wasn't my _real _papa, but he never treated me badly. I loved him."

Remo smiled and ran his fingers threw Titus' hair, "I'm glad, Little Titus."

Titus smiled back, "I was five years old when Papa took me in. He taught me how to read and he told me I was special," he leaned his head back in a sleepy manner, "He said I was very important, and that I was the only one out in the world as special as me. He said he needed me."

"You are special," the strongman said, kindly.

"He told me I was very special," Titus ignored him, "Papa was a little odd. He talked about death a lot, not in a creepy way, but like it was an old friend he was just waiting to stop by. He had a book that he always had with him. He told me that it would be mine one day, that I would succeed him in his occupation."

"What occupation was that?" Remo questioned.

Titus hesitated, "It was… complicated. But he told me he used his book to find his clients. I saw your name in it once."

"How can you remember seeing one name?" he asked.

Titus chuckled quietly, "I never forget a name," he sighed, "It's a trait Papa taught me. He wanted me to be prepared to take over his business."

Remo studied the boy's face and his closed eyes for a minute before running a gentle finger over the scar on his face, "You may never forget a name, but I will never forget this. This wrong done to you."

"But Remo," he whispered, "I've already forgotten it. I know that Johnny would never willingly harm us. There none a sillier notion in the world to consider that I can think of."

The strongman sighed, "I understand, Little Titus. I don't agree with you, but I understand."

Titus smiled at him one last time, "Good. Can I ask you something?"

"Of course."

"Don't leave me. At least till I fall asleep," he requested, tiredly.

Remo sat down and gently gathered the injured boy in his arms, "That's a silly question. Did you really think I would leave you alone after all this?" He leaned Titus against his chest, resting his palm on the teen's scarred neck gently, "I will never leave you alone. I owe you my life, after all. For that, I will remain by your side till the very end."

With that, Titus slept peacefully against the red clad strongman's chest.

_GenusMali_

Sebastian sadly smiled to himself.

Remo and Titus had always been, in his eyes, like brothers; inseparable in every aspect. In reality, they were polar opposites. The palest star in the night sky to the deep red of a scarlet ruby, a sweet soul of the kindest form to a strong one willing to sacrifice everything, a small, weak little boy afraid of the world to a stronger one afraid to try. It didn't make sense.

Still, the butler respected his old comrades; they held on to their friendship throughout their lives.

Sebastian once again looked down at his hands. His hands had almost destroyed that bond; the bond precious enough that a young teenager was willing to die for. He was ashamed.

Then he felt a jolt of pain in his side, "Stop blaming yourself for everything," muttered his master from in front of him, "Your ethics are slipping enough as it is."

If he wasn't already fighting against his new very out of character personality, Sebastian might have laughed.

Maybe polar opposites bonding isn't such a bad thing. Earl and butler may not have been that different in personality, but the person who was once Johnny Traveler was certainly different from Ciel Phantomhive. Ciel was a cold being with a strict nature and a calculating method of strategy. Johnny was vibrant person who loved dramatics and made very rash decisions.

Still, as he fell further and further into the mind state he was once in, Sebastian couldn't help but feel… protective.

Yes, maybe that was the word. Almost like Remo's older brother-like bond with the young white haired announcer, though Sebastian hardly felt his master would jump in front of a raging demon for him.

The butler ran a hand over his master's bluish-gray hair. When this whole nightmare was over, what would become of him? Even with his demon powers remaining, Sebastian was mortal now. He didn't regret his choice; if this went like it was supposed to, he'd be able to save one of his friends from death. Nothing meant more to him than that.

Still, Sebastian couldn't help but wonder where he himself would end up. Would he have to leave the manor? Even with demon powers, what good were they in total if he was mortal. He could die now, and worse, he could get tired. All these things would make it much harder to work at the same pace as Sebastian once had. Would it even be worth trying?

Suddenly, the butler felt a slight pressure on in left hand. He looked down briefly, then smiled. Ciel took his hand in his own silently, almost as if reading the others thoughts. Sebastian, in turn, rubbed the top of it without a word.

_Maybe, _when this was all over, he could try to understand just _why _Remo loved to play the role of big brother.

_**_GenusMali _**_

Henley silently led his master into the clearing.

The teen hadn't said a word since their trek back began. Johnny was growing tired, his previous strength gone. Henley kept his arm draped around his master, leading him back to camp.

Johnny kept his eyes trained forward on the ground, like it was an effort to walk on its own. The butler rubbed circles into his shoulder as they walked, gently letting him lean against his side to keep him upright.

He kept stumbling every few steps, but with his butler's help, he managed to struggle along.

Henley knocked away a branch in their path, and then continued on. The butler was a little bit worried about the others, now that his master was mostly out of danger. They had no clue about what occurred. They only knew about the outcome of his rage, not the reason. Henley had no doubt Lyn would be fairly forgiving, and Lysandra probably would be too after a small explanation. Talia would most likely forgive Johnny if her brother did, and Titus, though the one hurt in the first place, wasn't one the hold a grudge and held Johnny in highest respects. Remo was Henley's main worry.

The strongman was usually a calm and gentle person, but, more than anything, he was a brother to Titus. He will never forgive the young master for the pain Johnny caused his friend and Remo would be sure to exact his vengeance no matter the cost.

Still, Henley figured that if Titus could argue about, Remo wouldn't do anything too hasty, at least till the boy was healed. The butler had quickly checked Titus' wounds before he left, and the butler found him to a very good chance of survival. With a little rest, he'd be fine in a few weeks.

Henley sighed as he felt a slight pressure on his arm. He was still as Johnny clutched to his arm, energy at its limits, struggling to go on. Henley wordlessly picked him up and leaned his master's head against his shoulder. The butler looked at the young man, taking in his face.

Johnny's expression was completely blank, yet tired in a strange far off way. His hand clutched at Henley's jacket that hung limply around him. The boy's normally bright eyes were dull looking and tired.

The butler nodded to himself and pulled his master's face into his shoulder again, which made Johnny ease a bit. He kept rubbing his master's arm as Henley continued on the path, till they came to a the roaring fire and a startled looking white-haired boy lying beside a raging red-haired man.

Henley smirked and whispered to himself, "Looks like I'm in for one hell of a night."

**Review! Poll! Pasta!**


	19. His Butler, A Brother Again

_**Hola! Wow, quicker update than usual, but don't expect many updates from now till Sunday. Early congrats to myself, I'm graduating eighth grade on Friday. Honestly never thought I'd get this far :P**_

_**Anyway, thank you to all those who've been patiently waiting and not losing faith in my nonexistent but seemingly entertaining skills, this extra long, extra fast chapter is for you guys.**_

_**I'M BRINGING OUT THE CAPS LOCK GUYS I'M SERIOUS NOW!1! I **_**MUST**_** HAVE THE POLL RESULTS SOON. THOSE WHO'VE BEEN PUTTING IT OFF OR DON'T REALLY CARE, I'LL TELL YOU WHY I NEED THE POLL RESULTS. **_**I'M PLANNING A SEQUEL**_**. I NEED THE CHARACTER BECAUSE THEY WILL BE THE MAIN OC IN THE SEQUEL. MOST OF THE OC'S WILL BE IN IT, BUT REALLY THE WINNER WILL BE THE ONLY ONE TO STAY AS THEY WERE IN FLASHBACK MODE, THEY REST WILL BE COMPLETELY DIFFERENT. SO, IF YOU HAVE FALLEN IN LOVE WITH A CHARATER OR YOU JUST WANT THE PLOT TO GO A CERTAIN WAY, THEN DO ME THE HONOR OF CASTING YOUR VOTE!1!1!**_

_**Okay, I'm done ranting bout the poll now. I won't be updating for a while but I have my class trip to Baltimore tomorrow so I may be able to write on the bus, but I hate writing on my iPod. Still, if I can get that little number of reviews to say 30, maybe I'll use my friends iPhone to update on the bus? Yes, honest bribe. **___

_**I don't own Kuroshitsuji**_

"Well?" asked Henley, adjusting his master in his arms, "How is he?"

Remo glared at him, "He's been better, no thanks to your _master_," he hissed the word like it was a curse.

The butler felt Johnny stiffen, but he did nothing else in defense of himself. Henley looked down the small five inches to look into Remo's burning glare, "I will take a better look at him in a minute, you have no reason to worry yourself."

"_No reason?_" he growled, going right up in the butler's face, "Titus almost died!"

"As I expressed to my young master earlier, 'almost' means almost nothing," Henley said quite simply.

By this time, Lyn had heard the argument from inside and had rushed out, "Henley? Is Johnny-"

"He's fine, Lyn," the butler said quickly, eyes not leaving the angry strongman, "Would you please take the young master and Titus inside?"

The young magician looked worriedly at all of them, but nodded. He almost flew to Henley's side and put Johnny's arm around his neck, then half-carried, half-dragged him over to Titus. The white-haired boy managed to stand shakily on his own and, with support, went inside with the other two.

Remo's fists remained at his side as he clenched his teeth, "Why is that necessary?"

"I felt that the injured have no need to hear an argument," the butler replied unfazed.

"You call that bastard injured?" Remo held back a shout, "After what he did to Titus!"

Henley started taking off his glove, "In every situation, there are always two victims; a literal victim and those who care for them, and the perpetrator, who has to live with the deed. My master tried to kill himself."

"Good for him!" laughed Remo, "He deserves it! Of course he failed; maybe I could do him at least that little favor!"

The butler looked at him considerately, almost sadly, "My you are quite upset. The young master will not be pleased with me. I do take it you no longer wish to remain in our presence?"

"Of course!" Remo sneered, "Who would? Something is wrong with you people, that much is clear. I'm taking Titus and we're leaving."

"Well," Henley said examining his black fingernails, "I don't believe I have any right to keep you here, Remo, but why don't you ask Titus himself if he actually _wants _to leave us."

Remo stopped and looked at him wide eyed, "What? Why wouldn't he?"

"Think about it, Remo," the butler said, nearing the strongman. He walked up to Remo, who was still as a statue. The dark moon light faded, leaving the world in a state of complete and utter blackness. Henley stood behind him and put an ungloved hand on his shoulder, though Remo didn't turn to see the simple on it, "You're just being selfish. Do you really think you could care for him on your own in his current state? Titus would never survive for long without proper care. By taking him away from here, he gains nothing but a death sentence."

"You lie!" screamed Remo.

"I don't lie," Henley said simply, "I have nothing to gain from such an act as lying, especially to you. I simply wish for you to know what your plans outcome will be. Are you willing to accept that result?"

The strongman gaped for a while, not moving. Henley smirked, demonically, as he allowed an even darker aura to cover them in a veil of eerie light, "Well? What is your chose?"

"I-I-I…" he shuddered, not really sure _why _he was so afraid and worried, "I don't know…"

"Why don't you just wait and see for yourself?" the butler said as he backed away to the carriage, the eerie aura leaving with each step, "Though I do suggest doing so out of my or my master's presence."

Remo then snapped out of whatever trance Henley had him in and spun around as the butler was putting his gloves back on, "What the hell are you people! First Johnny goes crazy and now this? You're not human!" he screamed after him, backing away from the camp and into the woods.

Henley simply smiled, "My master is the most noble son of the Walker family, the youngest of a large family, John Walker. That is all it is, and I am his butler."

"I know that!" the strongman said with scared eyes, "But _what _are you two!"

"Ah," Henley chuckled, "You should really be more clear with your questions, boy. My master is the _last _son of the Walker family, a large, wealthy farming family that was murder by my previous master, his brother, Matthew. John Walker died the day I meet him and the one you know as Johnny Traveler was born a new being, one obsessed with vengeance against the wrongs done to him and will give _anything_, even his very life, to accomplish it by any means necessary."

"And you?" he gasped out.

The butler bit off his left glove slowly with a wide, unnatural grin and let the white fabric fall to the ground, "As I said before, and a thousand times previously as well, I am just one hell of a butler…"

Remo's eyes widened to the largest possible size they could go as Henley's scarlet eyes turned the color of raw, pink flesh and his pupils turn to slits. The strongman ran as fast as his long legs would carry him into the woods and away from the smirking devil.

Henley slipped the glove back on as he turned to go back into carriage and sighed, "Honestly, these children work me much too hard," the butler opened the carriage door to see Lysandra crying her eyes out into his young master's shirt and Lyn helping Titus lay down in the hammock, "Yes, much too hard."

_**_Genus Mali_**_

"You idiot!" sobbed Ly, into her love's shirt, "You scared the fucking shit out of me! I thought you were gone…"

Johnny let her clutch to his shirt, putting his arm around her wordlessly. Why in the name of God did she still trust him? He could have killed them all and they realize that. They should all be horrified. Yet, even Titus, who he scarred for life in his rage, didn't seem that angry with him at all. The only one who held any distrust in their eyes was Tally, though it more likely due to lingering shock then actual hate.

"Johnny," the knife-thrower interrupted his thoughts, "You're crying."

He instantly moved a hand to his face, and, as she said, the bandages around his eyes were slightly damp as a trail of tears fell from the other eye. Johnny quickly wiped them away and cursed under his breath.

"No, don't," Lysandra grabbed his hand, sitting up on his lap, "I hate it when you boys pretend to be so strong that your too good to cry."

He just smiled and kissed her tiredly, eyes closing, "I'm sorry for scaring you," he whispered into her hair, "All this will make sense one day, I promise."

"It would be better if it made sense now," she said, "But I can wait a little bit."

As the lovely couple were having there moment, Lyn and Talia covered Titus in a few blankets.

"I think you over did it a little, Titus," chuckled Lyn as Titus buried himself in a little cocoon of blankets sleepily, "Take a good long rest now."

"Is Remo gonna be okay?" the smaller teen whispered past the blankets.

Lyn smiled sadly and brushed some hair out of his eyes, "That depends on him. Either way, I'm more worried about you and Johnny right now."

"What do you think happened to Johnny, brother?" Talia questioned.

The magician sighed, "I'm not completely sure, but honestly, I don't care. I've promised to myself that I would protect all of you with my whole being, and that includes Johnny."

"So you still trust him?" she asked.

Lyn smiled a ruffled her hair, "It'd trust him with my life, little sister," then he stood up from Titus' side, "Go one you all, it's been a busy day. Go get some shut eye."

As they all went to argue, the carriage door opened and Henley entered.

"Remo-" Titus immediately was interrupted.

"Is making his own decision as we speak," Henley said, smiling lightly, "And I believe that the best form of action for us is to rest before we must prepare for our trip to see the King."

"I agree," said Lyn, "When will you be leaving?"

"We must arrive in three days, so I believe that we should leave as soon as we can," Henley said as he ushered Talia out the door as Ly kissed Johnny's head before she joined her younger friend.

Johnny brought his knees to his chest, "Henley, obviously your coming with me, but the King specified only me and two others will have access to the castle," he looked at them with dead eyes, "I don't think the girls would be much help in this situation, so, as Remo isn't here, I suppose Lyn is my only choice."

"Wait a minute!" Titus argued, though his weak voice did little to prove his point, "I'm still here."

"You're too weak to travel, Little Titus," Lyn said, softly, "It's for your own health, bud."

"Actually," Henley interrupted, "It may be a good idea to take Titus with us, as well, even if we can't get him in the castle. The town were His Majesty asked us to meet him, Cornwall, should have much better medicine then we do here. I'm sure we could find him a doctor to better care for his wounds."

"So, it's settled," Lyn smiled, "You, Johnny, and me will travel, to Cornwall and meet the King for this little get together and see what he wants. We take Titus with us and find him a doctor and the girls stay in the caravan. Am I right?"

"Much so," Henley nodded, and then turned to Johnny, "Is there anything you will need before I leave to start packing?"

Johnny just shook his head and looked straight forward. Henley looked to Lyn, silently motioning to his master with his head before the butler left the carriage with a knowing smile.

Lyn leaned down next to Titus and fisted one of his hands near his mouth. The magician blew into the hand, and then covered Titus' mouth before he could move, "Just something to help you sleep, bud." Before he could say a word, Titus' eyes shut and he fell into a deep sleep.

Johnny didn't move in the slightest as Lyn sat down next to him, "Hey," he whispered, "You know Titus is gonna be fine, right?"

"His face," Johnny said, silently looking toward Titus, "I did that."

Lyn frowned and looked at him, "Yeah, but he doesn't hold it against you, Johnny."

"I hold it against myself," he whispered in almost a sigh.

"You shouldn't," the magician said, "I think Remo's the only one who actually thinks that way, and he's just angry. As far as I can tell, you didn't seem to be in control when you did any of that to him."

"I still did it," Johnny put his face in his hands, "That's something no amount of your bloody positive thinking can change."

Lyn sighed and leaned back against the wall, "I may be a bloody positive thinker, but that's why we make such a great team, I guess."

"Huh?" Johnny questioned, looking up at him dumbstruck. Lyn smiled.

"Well, it's pretty easy really," he said with a jokingly authoritative voice, "The big brother always needs to give his little brother a boost now and again, though you need a _lot _of boosts, my man. I think I deserve a break from all this cheering up! What do you think, a vacation in order? Maybe London, or perhaps even Italy. I hear they make splendid pasta."

His friends little act made Johnny chuckle a little bit, but his face still remained grave. Lyn looked at him sadly, smile still on his face, "You had a real brother once, right?" Johnny physically stiffened but Lyn just brushed it off, "Don't worry, I don't wanna know all the details, I just need you to understand something."

The magician placed a nimble hand under his best friend's chin and brought Johnny's single blue eye to meet his green and white ones, "No matter what happens, no matter what you do, and no matter what you say, big brother will always protect little brother till the end. Even if it doesn't seem like they do, they do love them. You are my little brother, and I will always love you."

Johnny looked at him, lipped quivering, speechless. The blonde teen refused to let his tears fall even as they gathered in his eye. Lyn put his hand behind his friend's head and pulled Johnny into his chest.

The magician smiled down at the shaking teen, petting his hair, avoiding the bandages, "It's alright, Johnny," he whispered, "You can cry. You don't have to be afraid."

"No I can't cry," Johnny spoke into his friend's shirt, "I can't cry. I can't be weak. I can't."

Lyn didn't argue, he just pulled him closer and kept running his fingers through his hair slowly and calmly. He rubbed his back with the other hand and rested his chin against Johnny's hair, "Well, even if you don't want to, if you ever need it, you know me or Henley, or probably anyone here will always be there to lend an ear."

"But why?" Johnny questioned, "Why do you forgive me for what I did? I could have killed you all, yet you act like it doesn't even matter."

"You don't get it yet?" Lyn looked him in the eye, "Everyone here is willing to die for you, not because you saved us all those years ago, but because we know that you'd do the same for us. That's what friendship is all about. No matter how they appear, nothing is ever really one sided. In bad times, and good times, the real friends are the ones that don't care if your weak, and don't care about the tear stains on their clothes. No one things any less of you if you cry, and you shouldn't either."

Johnny watched him while he spoke, as tears began forming in his eye. Lyn just smiled a little more and held him closer to him, not minding the sudden wetness on his shirt, "It's all gonna be okay. I promise, and big brother never lies."

"Don't leave me," Johnny whispered, clutching to the yellow fabric of his shirt, "Not like Matt did, please, don't leave me…"

The magician looked down at him, smile fading instantly. He squeezed his friend's arm, "I will _never _leave you, Johnny. You have to know that. You are as much my family as Tally, I don't care who says otherwise. I am your lion, named me that when we meet, from that second, you were my brother, my friend, my left hand just as I'm your right."

He felt the young lord laugh shakily against him, "Thank you, Lyn," Johnny sat himself up and looked at him as wiped his tears, "I- Thank you, _brother_."

Lyn could hear his hesitation in his voice, but chose not to look a gift horse in the mouth and hugged him one last time, a hug that was gratefully recuperated in full.

They separated and they both stood. Lyn went over the check Titus one last time before both of them exited the carriage together.

_**_Genus Mali_**_

Ciel watch Johnny's breakdown silently. He, by know, had come to realize a few things about his butler's past. The earl wanted to try and memorize everything he could about the young lord of the past so that when this was over, Ciel would still know his butler's habits just as well as he previously had.

Many of Johnny's little 'quirks' were something Ciel was absolutely _dreading_.

One of the many issues was his damn pig-headedness. Johnny was naturally a trusting person, though he never knew who to trust. That made the young lord paranoid about people in general. Johnny trusted so few people that he had trouble comprehending who was the enemy and who was a friend. The only good side of this was that he was less hurt when bad things happened, though it was a rather small victory.

Ciel _really _didn't think it would be very easy to excuse such hostile and unsociable manners among any of his servants, let alone his butler.

Still, the earl could see some way to fix the problem. Ciel could see that there were people that could easy break down Johnny's barriers. Matthew Walker, despite all the pain and suffering he forced his beloved brother through, held a large part of Johnny's heart, even as he wanted to kill him. In his brother's absence, Lyn was able to pick up the jagged, impossible puzzle pieces and try to fit them back together into the young, happy boy they once were. Lyn and Matt made themselves Johnny's family despite the odds. Those were the moments when he had complete and utter faith in those around him.

Maybe if they could make him feel like that again, maybe when Sebastian finished this hellish torture and returned one of his loved one's back to life, maybe, _just maybe_, everything could go back to normal, or as normal as it could be with a half demon butler, a young noble, a hyperactive sniper/maid, a machine-gun wielding chef, a superhuman gardener, a snakeman, and Tanaka (cause he's Tanaka.)

The young earl looked around the room for a brief second. He saw the servants in the corner, fending off Snake's friends, the grim reapers silently arguing about Titus' situation and if they knew him or not, and Tanaka watching highly amused.

Ciel felt content for a brief moment, till he felt a slight wetness on his shoulder. The earl went to look up at his butler, put a gentle hand stopped him with a cupped palm on his cheek turning him back towards the screen, "No young master," said the silently weeping butler, "I once asked you to refrain from seeing my true form as a demon, now I-I don't want you to see my true form as a human. Please, let me have what little shred of pride I have left."

"There's absolutely nothing wrong with being human, Sebastian," Ciel said as he leaned into the hand a little, turning back to the screen, "Still, I won't look," there was a slight pause, "S-Sebastian?"

"Yes, young master?" Sebastian said as he wiped his tears with his free hand.

"I just want you to know that…" he fought to find the right words, "That any of your problems affect my household, which make them my problems."

"Young master," sighed Sebastian, guessing what he meant, "You aren't displaying weakness again are you?"

"Not in the slightest," Ciel rebuffed, "I just don't want my butler moping about all day if it can be helped. I'd much rather here complaints from you then from others."

Sebastian chuckled and tilted his head back, "You are such a cruel master, Ciel."

The earl stopped, "You called me Ciel."

"Hum?" Sebastian recalled what he just said, and bite his lip, "Oh my, I-I'm sorry young master, it just escaped my min-"

"No," Ciel interrupted, smirking, "I see no problem with you calling me by my name in private, so long as no one of great importance hears you."

The butler smiled, "Yes… Ciel."

_**Review! Poll! Aww… (you know you did it fangirls)**_


	20. His Butler, Okay

_**EP! JESUS I'M SO SORRY FOR NOT UPDATING PLZ FORGIVES ME! IBE SO SORRY PLEASE!**_

_**I really don't know what happened, I just lost my muse for a bit (honestly, the bunnies have all but left and jumped onto a new band wagon). I really hate when I fall in love with an anime, than start a new one (which I did) cause than I want to write a fanfic! I finished watching Hetalia (all of them) and somehow my mixed up mind came up with this really complicated theory that I'm either going to get killed or adored for **_____

_**Actually, if there are any Hetalia fans reading this (if anyone is still reading), I'm looking for some help with developing my theory. If your interested, plz contact me through PM, I swear it's going to be fun to at least hear it and you get to roleplay to help me **___

_**As always, I love reviews, I have a pole, and I brought a story. **_

_**Disclaimer: I don't own Kuroshitsuji**_

"Young master, it's time to wake up"

Johnny slowly blinked his eyes as he awoke to see his butler over him, gently pulling a blanket off of him, "I felt a light breakfast was in order, as we will be traveling a fair distance," Henley said as he folded the blanket, "I have prepared a few cheddar cheese and salmon sandwiches on biscuits, as well as a small mint salad. The tea for today is a fine green tea imported from India."

The young lord watched the butler in curiosity as he took in his surroundings. Johnny found himself to still be in his clothes when he woke up, though his bandages were in desperate need of being changed. Henley saw so quickly, and began doing so.

"How is Titus?" Johnny questioned when Henley finished fixing his bandage.

"Extremely well for someone with his injuries," he remarked, "It's almost as if the never happened, except for the scars. Honestly, they really wouldn't remain so bad if the boy would stop picking at it all the time."

Johnny chuckled lightly and he stood up, "Has everything been prepared, Henley?"

"Yes, young master," the butler nodded, "I have taken the liberty of packing all we will need for our little adventure beforehand."

"I see," the young lord stretched briefly before he began to fix his hair, "Then we will depart as soon as possible."

The butler tossed the blanket into the carriage, then, with an almost amused smirk, walked up behind his mast, grabbed him by the shoulder, and dragged him to sit down on a log, "After you eat of course."

"After all that went down last night, no way in hell," Johnny scoffed as he went to stand again, "I'm not hungry Henley."

Henley pushed him back down with a sarcastic grin, "Come now, young master," he plopped a plate with breakfast on it on his master's lap with a slight thud, "Starving yourself will do nothing for the situation. It would only make others worried and stressed, which puts a large amount of work on everyone else. So I do think eating is necessary."

Johnny huffed a little, but took a bite of one of the sandwiches while he mumbled to himself. Henley continued to smile, "Will you be changing clothes for your visit with His Majesty?"

"I see no need to," he replied with a mouth full of salmon, "Frankly, if the King has chosen to lower himself by calling upon our services, then why make him feel honored? Our King is a fool if he expects thieves to so him such courtesy."

The butler sighed, "You honestly have no sense of courtesy, do you, young master? Regardless of how you were summoned, or even who summoned you, a person of your standing, no, _any _standing should always be at their best for their hosts. And in your case, you should feel blessed that a king would recognize your abilities."

Johnny scoffed, "Aren't you long winded today. Still, you've made your point. Just please do try not to go overboard, Henley, I do wish to maintain some level of dignity," Johnny finished the rest of the sandwich, leaving the rest and standing to stretch, "And prepare something for Lyn and Titus, as well."

"Yes, young master," Henley nodded. He bowed deeply and quickly moved to the carriage. The butler, using the attached ladder, pulled himself on top of it and went through their storage, looking for better clothing.

Johnny sighed and ran a hand threw his hair. Today was going to be a very long day.

_GenusMali_

Talia fixed her brother's collar as Lyn squirmed uncomfortably.

"Will you _please _hold still, brother?" the tightrope walker playfully barked, "You aren't helping at all!"

Lyn sighed, "I hate this. It feels weird."

"Henley says you need to wear something nicer than your normal clothes for the King," Talia said, "Even Titus has to."

"Titus isn't going anywhere near the King!" the magician exclaimed.

"Yes," his sister agreed, "But, Henley still wants him to be presentable to others."

Lyn sulked a little bit as Talia finished, "Oh, big brother!" she smiled, "You look so nice!"

He scoffed at his sister. Lyn wasn't the least bit happy with what the butler made him wear. He didn't like the finer, tan fabric that was so contrast to his normal, rough yellow. The supple leather felt so unfamiliar than his own clothes, and the lack of various pockets made Lyn feel vastly naked. Though the rich cloth _did _have a softer feel against his skin, Lyn much preferred more practical clothes.

"I look like a bloody prat," he mumbled, toying with his sleeve.

"You look like a _rich _prat," Talia corrected with a smile.

They both laughed a little as Titus and Henley walked out of the carriage.

"Henley…" the boy whined, white hair falling into his face, "Why do I have to wear this? I look silly."

Titus moped around, pulling at the fairly long sleeves of his jacket.

"I had a bit of trouble finding anything that fit him well and covered his scars," Henley shrugged, "I had to work with what I had."

Titus' normal white clothes had been replaced with a similar set, but in darker shades and they were a bit too big for him. The tunic was a rather unattractive color quite similar to rusted steel or a rotten apple, and his baggy, green pants trailed on the ground slightly behind him in the dirt and leaves. His silver hair was ragged and unkempt; though it was obvious Henley had at least _tried _to tame it even if the butler obviously failed horribly. On the other hand, Henley was fair successful in covering most of the boy's scars except for the few on his face. Said facial scars were partial hidden by his scraggily bangs that partially hide his face.

"Can I _please _change?" Titus implored.

"I'm sorry," Henley shook his head, "It's the best we have at the moment."

Titus sighed as Lyn gently patted his back, "It could be worse."

"Shut up," he glared, a little too lightheartedly for Lyn to be offended though, "You look like a damn prince, I look like I was just mauled by a badger with no fashion sense."

Talia chuckled as she went to leave for the carriage, "No matter what I do to him, brother dearest will never be a prince and I hardly doubt you'll get mauled by a badger."

That made Titus laugh along with her and Lyn go back to his moping, "How much longer till we can get this over with?" the magician grumbled once his sister was gone.

"As soon as the young master is ready," the butler replied, "I believe the Lysandra was assisting him."

"Will be here all week…" Titus sighed.

"Be where all week?" Johnny interrupted as he and Lysandra walked out of the woods, "You wouldn't be talking about us, would you?"

The couple sauntered briskly into group. Johnny had been changed as well. His normal colors of orange and black hadn't changed in the slightest though his playful, carefree appearance seemed a bit more grown up. Johnny's slanted tunic was replaced with an straight, orange, long sleeved tunic in a slightly darker shade than usual color. His pants were looser than his skin tight ones, though they still made him look quite slim. His shoes, contrast to the rest of his attire, were a rich, supple brown leather. Finally, he had a black vest with the Caravan's crown emblem on its lower right side. Johnny's long hair had been tied back in to a small ponytail, and his bangs just covered enough of his bandages so that they were visible but not plainly obvious.

"I say you look dashing," Lysandra smiled, "Henley, please make him dress like this more often?"

The butler smiled a bowed slightly, "I'll do my best, though I do believe it would be fairly difficult to do such a thing again."

"Never again," Johnny smirked mockingly, "Are we ready to go?"

"Yes, young master," Henley straightened up, "As soon as you are prepared."

"Good," Johnny ran a hand over his hair, "Ly, you're in charge until we return. Don't move the carriage anywhere, if you go to town, take Tally with you no matter what and lock the carriage doors when you're gone, don't go out at night-"

"Don't talk to strangers," Lysandra sighed and kissed Johnny's cheek, "Don't let the food spoil. I'm not a child, Johnny. Have a little faith."

He smiled and kissed her again, "I know that, but I worry."

"Oh break it up you two," Lyn rolled his eyes, "It isn't like you'll never see each other again, we need to get going!"

"A minute without you, my dear, is like a year to me," Johnny smiled to a blushing Ly before he turned, "But your right, Lyn. We should leave as soon as possible."

"Good, then let's be on our way," Titus nodded. He grabbed a bag and stood beside the two horses, waiting for the others.

"Well, shall we then?" Lyn asked as he helped Titus onto Dot and then mounted himself.

Johnny turned back to the girls, winked then hoped onto the other horse, "Shall we Henley?"

The butler smiled, then mounted as well and took the reins, "Then let us begin this adventure!"

And then they were off.

_Genus Mali_

"I don't believe this," Ciel crossed his arms over his chest.

Sebastian looked down at him, confused, "What?"

"All this time, you had past ties with the Crown and you never told me?" the earl growled.

"Why would that be important exactly?" he questioned.

"Because," Ciel snarled, "A little advice every once in a while about what that damn woman wants from me would be a _bit _beneficial."

The butler raised an eyebrow, "Since when have I ever failed to provide the best possible information to be at your disposal at all times, Ciel?"

"Never," he scoffed, "But you've probably had more experience with royalty than I have if I know you."

"Well," Sebastian responded, "Frankly, when I tell you anything that involves my opinion, you most usually tune me out."

Ciel looked at him for a second, then snorted, "Well, maybe you should just speak louder."

Sebastian couldn't help but chuckle and ruffle his master's hair, much to the earl discontent, "Maybe you should listen to your butler a little more."

"Oh, shut up," Ciel rolled his eyes but he didn't argue much.

As Sebastian laughed again, the other servants watched the master and butler, acting _normal_ and almost _playful_.

"It's so strange to think that just before this whole thing started, I couldn't even _imagine _them so casual with each other," Bard commented, quietly.

Finny nodded in agreement, "The young master was always so serious and Mr. Sebastian always encouraged him to do so. But now that he's more Johnny than he is Sebastian…"

"They're so cute!" Mey-rin whispered, "They look like two brothers squabbling, they do!"

"It's pretty strange, but it's not really that surprising, is it?" Bard commented, "I mean, maybe being stuck in a room like this was what we needed. A nice splash of water in the face to pull us together, even if it is a little bitter sweet, seems to be exactly what we needed to be get a bit more comfortable with each other."

"Quite, true," Tanaka nodded, smiling as he watched the two, "Still, I don't think this is much of anything new. We all care for each other, don't deny it. But some people, such our young master and Sebastian, have a bit more trouble showing that they actually care for others. I believe that when this all ends, life may be completely different."

While they had this conversation, Sebastian's laughs had faded, and a frown grew on his face. Ciel was about ready to glare at him and remind him to loosen up and stop moping, but then his butler smiled again, fairly content.

"What has you so happy?" Ciel couldn't put his normal scorn in his voice no matter how hard he tried.

"It's a little strange to think about," the butler mused, still smiling lightly, "But I feel… okay."

The earl raised an eyebrow, "For most people in the middle of a torture session, feeling 'okay' normally means horrible pain. In your situation I'd certainly want to feel at least 'good'."

The butler smiled even brighter, "Of course Ciel, but you see, I haven't felt okay in so long, I'll take it."

_**_GenusMali_**_

_**Review! Poll! PASTA!**_


End file.
